SOLUTION: I need a day-to-day example using the Pythagorean theorem. I cant come up with anything. My mind is completely blank. Can anyone help me??? Thank you!

Algebra ->  Pythagorean-theorem -> SOLUTION: I need a day-to-day example using the Pythagorean theorem. I cant come up with anything. My mind is completely blank. Can anyone help me??? Thank you!      Log On


   

Question 186672: I need a day-to-day example using the Pythagorean theorem. I cant come up with anything. My mind is completely blank. Can anyone help me??? Thank you!
Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let's say that you have a ladder resting against a wall. You know that the ladder is 10 feet long (it says so on the ladder itself) and you know that the ladder reaches 8 feet on the wall (ie the 8 ft mark on the wall) since there's a tape measure that runs from the ceiling to the floor. Now the question is: How far is the base of the ladder from the wall?


Just as a visual guide, here's what the problem would look like:






Now let's say that you want to solve this problem:


Solution:


Since the legs are 8 and x this means that a=8 and b=x


Also, since the hypotenuse is 10, this means that c=10.


a%5E2%2Bb%5E2=c%5E2 Start with the Pythagorean theorem.


8%5E2%2Bx%5E2=10%5E2 Plug in a=8, b=x, c=10


64%2Bx%5E2=10%5E2 Square 8 to get 64.


64%2Bx%5E2=100 Square 10 to get 100.


x%5E2=100-64 Subtract 64 from both sides.


x%5E2=36 Combine like terms.


x=sqrt%2836%29 Take the square root of both sides. Note: only the positive square root is considered (since a negative length doesn't make sense).


x=6 Simplify the square root.


================================================================


Answer:


So the solution is x=6.


This means that the base of the ladder is 6 ft from the wall.