SOLUTION: Scarlett is building a skateboarding ramp by propping the end of a piece of wood an a cinder block. If the ramp begins 84 centimeters from the block and the block is 35 centimeters

Algebra ->  Pythagorean-theorem -> SOLUTION: Scarlett is building a skateboarding ramp by propping the end of a piece of wood an a cinder block. If the ramp begins 84 centimeters from the block and the block is 35 centimeters      Log On


   

Question 1107399: Scarlett is building a skateboarding ramp by propping the end of a piece of wood an a cinder block. If the ramp begins 84 centimeters from the block and the block is 35 centimeters tall,how long is the piece of wood?
Found 2 solutions by PeanutTheCat, MathTherapy:
Answer by PeanutTheCat(5) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
To solve this problem, we need to use the Pythagorean theorem, which is a%5E2+%2B+b%5E2+=+c%5E2.

When one draws the ramp, it is evident that you need to find the length of the hypotenuse, "c" (in the following equations, it is represented by "x").


Step 1: Plug in the numbers
84%5E2+%2B+35%5E2+=+x%5E2

Step 2: Simplify
7056+%2B+1225+=+x%5E2
8281+=+x%5E2

Step 3: Take the square root of both sides (to get "x" by itself)
sqrt%288281%29+=+sqrt%28x%5E2%29
91+=+x

Final Answer:
The piece of wood is 91 cm long.

Step 4: To check your work, plug your answer back into the theorem
8281+=+91%5E2
8281+=+8281

Answer by MathTherapy(10553) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Scarlett is building a skateboarding ramp by propping the end of a piece of wood an a cinder block. If the ramp begins 84 centimeters from the block and the block is 35 centimeters tall,how long is the piece of wood?
The 84 cm and 35 cm represent the legs of a right-triangle.

Dividing 84 and 35 by 7 result in 12 and 5. So, what is seen here is a 5-12-13 PYTHAG. TRIPLE, times 7.

Therefore, missing side or the hypotenuse/length of wood = highlight_green%28matrix%281%2C4%2C+13%287%29%2C+%22=%22%2C+91%2C+cm%29%29