SOLUTION: A carpenter is trying to "square" a corner. He marks a position 25 inches out from the corner on one side and 60 inches out from the corner on the other side. he the measures the d

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Geometry -> SOLUTION: A carpenter is trying to "square" a corner. He marks a position 25 inches out from the corner on one side and 60 inches out from the corner on the other side. he the measures the d      Log On

Ad: Over 600 Algebra Word Problems at edhelper.com


    

Question 861704: A carpenter is trying to "square" a corner. He marks a position 25 inches out from the corner on one side and 60 inches out from the corner on the other side. he the measures the distance between these two positions and finds it to be 85 inches. Is the corner square? Fully explain your answer and support it with a calculation.
Answer by KMST(5328) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The carpenter needs to know if the imaginary green line connecting the two red marks forms a right triangle with the 25-inch and 60-inch sides.
For that to be true the lengths of the sides of the triangle have to agree with the Pythagorean theorem:
hypotenuse%5E2=leg%5B1%5D%5E2%2Bleg%5B2%5D%5E2
So we should have
hypotenuse%5E2=25%5E2%2B60%5E2
hypotenuse%5E2=625%2B3600
hypotenuse%5E2=4225
hypotenuse=sqrt%284225%29=65
For the corner to be really a square corner, the distance between the two points marked along the edges must be highlight%2865%29 inches.
If the carpenter measures from a corner along the sides and gets 25 inches on one side and 60 inches on the other,
and the distance between the two marks is 85 inches, then
there is no corner, and that carpenter is measuring distances along the same line,
because 25%2B60=85 :