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Jamil
Lv 4
Jamil asked in Science & MathematicsMathematics · 7 years ago

Problem in trigonometry?

There's a pole, and there's a rope that comes down from the top. When you hold the rope straight down, it's three feet longer than the pole, and when you pull the rope out tight, it's five feet from the base of the pole. How high is the pole?

1 Answer

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  • 7 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Call the height of the pole h feet

    That makes the length of the rope (h + 3) feet

    Stretch out, you have a right angled triangle with

    base = 5 feet,

    height = h feet and

    hypotenuse (h + 3) feet.

    It's our old friend Pythagoras again:

    h² + 5² = (h + 3)²

    h² + 25 = h² + 6h + 9

    25 = 6h + 9

    6h = 16

    h = 16/6

    h = 2⅔ feet

    h = 2 ft 8 inches

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