Final answer:
To find how far apart the outer faces of the supporting walls are, we multiply the rise of the roof by the reciprocal of the pitch ratio. A rise of 12.5 feet and a pitch of 6/12 (equal to 1/2) gives a run of 25 feet, which is the distance between the supporting walls.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student asks how far apart the outer faces of the supporting walls are given that the pitch of a roof is 6/12, and the rise is 12.5 feet. To solve this, one can think of the situation in terms of a right triangle, where the rise represents the height, the run (which is what we're solving for) represents the base, and the slope (pitch) is the ratio between the rise and the run. In this case, the slope of the roof is 6/12 or 1/2, which means for every foot of rise, there would be 2 feet of run. Since the rise is 12.5 feet, multiplying the rise by 2 gives us the run, which is 25 feet. Therefore, the outer faces of the supporting walls are 25 feet apart.