Question

A rope from the top of a mast on a sailboat is attached to a point 6 feet from the base of the mast. If the rope is 24 feet long, about how high is the mast?

Answer 1

Answer: It is about 23 feet.

Explanation:

1. Let's call x the height of the mast.

2. You know that the rope is attached to a point 6 feet from the base of the mast and the rope is 24 feet long, therefore, you can draw the right triangle shown in the figure attached.

3. To calculate x, you must apply the Pythagorean Theorem as you can see below:

`x=\sqrt{(24ft)^(2)-(6ft)^(2)}\\x=\sqrt{540ft^(2)}`

`x`≈
`23ft`