Question

Katy is about to ride a straight water slide. The launching platform is at the top of a tower that

is 48 feet tall. The splash pool at the end of the slide is 36 feet from the base of the tower. How
long is the water slide itself?

Answer 1

60 feet

Explanation:

Hello!

We can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of the water slide.

Pythagorean Theorem: a² + b² = c²

• a = leg (launching platform)
• b = led (distance from base)
• c = hypotenuse (length of slide)

Given the information of the height and distance from the base, solve for the length of the slide.

Solve for the length

• a² + b² = c²
• 48² + 36² = c²
• 2304 + 1296 = c²
• 3600 = c²
• 60 = c

The length of the water slide is 60 ft.