Question

(50 POINTS!) a. How far is the spot on the beach from the parking lot?

b. How far will he have to walk from the parking lot to get to the refreshment stand?

Answer 1

when running a line, in a right-triangle, from the 90° angle perpendicular to its opposite side, we will end up with three similar triangles, one Small, one Medium and a containing Large one. Check the picture below.

`\cfrac{a}{18}=\cfrac{32}{a}\implies a^2=(32)(18)\implies a=√((32)(18))\implies a=24 \\\\[-0.35em] ~\dotfill\\\\ \cfrac{b}{50}=\cfrac{32}{b}\implies b^2=(32)(50)\implies b=√((32)(50))\implies b=40`