Selena is flying a kite as shown below. Use the measurements to find how long the kite string is.

A right triangle with base 12 feet and height 16 feet. The hypotenuse represents the string of the kite.

feet

1 answer

To find the length of the hypotenuse (the kite string), we can use the Pythagorean theorem:

a² + b² = c²

In this case, a = 12 feet (base) and b = 16 feet (height).

Plugging in the values, we get:

12² + 16² = c²
144 + 256 = c²
400 = c²

To solve for c, we take the square root of both sides:

c = √400
c = 20 feet

Therefore, the length of the kite string is 20 feet.