SOLUTION: a radio tower located 18 miles north of a straight highway has a transmission radius of 33 miles. find x the length of the section of highway that is within the transmission radius

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Question 164539: a radio tower located 18 miles north of a straight highway has a transmission radius of 33 miles. find x the length of the section of highway that is within the transmission radius of the tower.

Answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(12701) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
a radio tower located 18 miles north of a straight highway has a transmission
radius of 33 miles. find x the length of the section of highway that is within
the transmission radius of the tower.
:
If you draw this out, you can see that two right triangles are formed by the
radii, the highway, and 18 mi. The radius will be the hypotenuse, the third
side will be half the distance of the highway inside the transmission circle.
:
Let a = .5x
:
a^2 + 18^2 = 33^2
:
a^2 + 324 = 1089
:
a^2 = 1089 - 324
:
a^2 = 765
:
a = sqrt%28765%29
a = 27.6586
:
x = 2*27.6586
:
x = 55.317 mi is the highway