SOLUTION: On a sunny day, a tree and its shadow form the sides of a right triangle. If the hypotenuse is 52 m long and the tree is 48 m tal, how long is the shadow?

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Question 203747: On a sunny day, a tree and its shadow form the sides of a right triangle. If the hypotenuse is 52 m long and the tree is 48 m tal, how long is the shadow?
Answer by jojo14344(1512) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!


Let us see the tree and the shadow form a Right Triangle:
drawing%28300%2C300%2C-2%2C8%2C-1%2C9%2Cline%280%2C0%2C0%2C8%29%2Cline%280%2C8%2C.2%2C8%29%2Cline%28.2%2C8%2C.2%2C0%29%2Cline%28.2%2C0%2C0%2C0%29%2Cline%28-2%2C0%2C6%2C0%29%2Cgreen%28line%28.2%2C8%2C6%2C0%29%29%2Cgreen%28locate%28-1%2C5%2Ctree%29%29%2Cgreen%28locate%28-.4%2C4.5%2Cb=48m%29%29%2Clocate%281.5%2C5%2Cshadow=hyp%29%2Cgreen%28locate%283.1%2C3.5%2Cc=52m%29%29%2Cred%28locate%283%2C-.2%2Ca%29%29%29%29

*The only unknwon side of the triangle is red%28a%29, that is the distance from the end of the shadow to the tree.

By Pyth. Theorem, a%5E2%2Bb%5E2=c%5E2
a%5E2=c%5E2-b%5E2=52%5E2-48%5E2=2704-2304=400
a=sqrt%28400%29
red%28a=20m%29, Answer

Thank you,
Jojo