Melissa has a gerbil that lives in a cage in the shape of a rectangular prism. She wants to put a ramp in the cage to give her gerbil exercise. The cage has a length of 70 cm, a width of 35 cm, and a height of 50 cm. How long does the ramp need to be to fit diagonally in the cage? Round the answer to the nearest tenth.(1 point)

Responses

78.6 cm
78.6 cm
60.2 cm
60.2 cm
116.3 cm
116.3 cm
92.9 cm

1 answer

To find the length of the ramp that fits diagonally in the cage, we can use the formula for the diagonal of a rectangular prism:

\[ d = \sqrt{l^2 + w^2 + h^2} \]

Where:

  • \( l \) = length of the cage
  • \( w \) = width of the cage
  • \( h \) = height of the cage

Substituting the values:

  • \( l = 70 \) cm
  • \( w = 35 \) cm
  • \( h = 50 \) cm

Now we calculate the diagonal \( d \):

\[ d = \sqrt{(70)^2 + (35)^2 + (50)^2} \]

Calculating each square:

\[ (70)^2 = 4900 \] \[ (35)^2 = 1225 \] \[ (50)^2 = 2500 \]

Now sum these values:

\[ 4900 + 1225 + 2500 = 8625 \]

Now take the square root:

\[ d = \sqrt{8625} \approx 92.9 \text{ cm} \]

Thus, the length of the ramp needs to be approximately 92.9 cm.