SOLUTION: The mainsail of a Lightning sailboat is a right triangle in which the hypotenuse is called the leech. If a 24-ft tall mainsail has a leech length of 26 ft and if DacronŽ sailclo

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Question 949509: The mainsail of a Lightning sailboat is a right
triangle in which the hypotenuse is called the leech. If a
24-ft tall mainsail has a leech length of 26 ft and if
DacronŽ sailcloth costs $10 per square foot, find the
cost of a new mainsail.
Answer by macston(5194) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
c=leech=25 ft; a=height=24 ft; b=base
b%5E2=c%5E2-a%5E2
b%5E2=%2826%5E2%29ft%5E2-%2824%5E2%29ft%5E2
b%5E2=%28676%29ft%5E2-%28576%29ft%5E2
b%5E2=%28100%29ft%5E2 find square root of each side.
b=sqrt%28100ft%5E2%29
b=10 ft Base is 10 feet.
Area=1/2ba=1/2(10 feet)(24 feet)=120 sq ft The area of the sail is 120 sq ft.
120 sq ft($10/sq ft)=$1200 ANSWER: The cost of the sail is $1200.