Question

a telephone pole support cable attaches to the pole 100 feet high. if the cable is 260 feet long, how far from the bottom of the pole does the cable attach to the ground?

Answer 1

The diagram representing the scenarion is shown below:

A right angle triangle, ABC is formed. AB represents the length of the pole. AC represents the length of the cable. We would determine the distance from the bottom of the pole to the cable by applying pythagorean theorem which states that

`\begin{gathered} \text{hypotenuse}^2=oppositeside^2+adjacentside^2 \\ \text{hypotenuse = 260} \\ \text{opposite side = 100} \\ \text{adjacent side = BC} \\ 260^2=100^2+BC^2 \\ 67600=10000^{}+BC^2 \\ BC^2=67600-10000=57600 \\ BC=\sqrt[]{57600} \\ BC\text{ = }240 \end{gathered}`

The cable is 240 ft from the bottom of the pole