SOLUTION: Suppose a railroad rail is 4 kilometers and it expands on a hot day by 13 centimeters in length. Approximately how many meters would the center of the rail rise above the​ ground

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Question 1143407: Suppose a railroad rail is 4 kilometers and it expands on a hot day by 13 centimeters in length. Approximately how many meters would the center of the rail rise above the​ ground?
Answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(22740) About Me  (Show Source):
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Suppose a railroad rail is 4 kilometers and it expands on a hot day by 13 centimeters in length.
Approximately how many meters would the center of the rail rise above the​ ground?
:
change 4 km to 4000 meters, change 13 cm to .13 meters
this would form an isosceles triangle with a base of 4000 meters
then
%284000%2B.13%29%2F2 = 2000.065 meters, the equal sides
the altitude (a) of the triangle = the center of the rail rise
:
Using pythag on one of the two right triangles that are formed
a^2 + 2000^2 = 2000.065^2
:
a = sqrt%282000.065%5E2+-+2000%5E2%29
a = 16 meters approximately