SOLUTION: Juan wants to test whether a 15-foot high flagpole is vertical (forms a right angle with the ground). He attaches two strings from a point on the ground to the opposite ends of the

Question 867350: Juan wants to test whether a 15-foot high flagpole is vertical (forms a right angle with the ground). He attaches two strings from a point on the ground to the opposite ends of the flagpole. Juan says since the measure of the short string is 8 feet and the long string is 17 feet, the flagpole is vertical. Is he correct?
Answer by mananth(16946) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The string , the pole (if vertical) and the ground form right triangle
the triangles have to comply with Pythagoras theorem
the hypotenuse = 17
one leg = 8
Check
17^2= 289
8^2+15^2=289
LHS=RHS
so the pole is vertical
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