Question

Peter is making an "X marks the spot" flag for a treasure hunt. The flag is made of a square white flag with sides

of 12 centimeters. He will make the "X" by stretching red ribbon diagonally from corner to corner.
How many centimeters of ribbon will Peter need to make the "X"?
Round your answer to the nearest centimeter.

Answer 1

34 centimetres

Explanation:

Since the flag is made of a square white flags, then all its sides are equal in length. a diagonal of a square would divide it into two equal triangle.

Let the length of the diagonal be represented by t, such that;

`/hyp/^(2)` =
`/adj 1/^(2)` +
`/adj 2/^(2)`

`t^(2)` =
`(12)^(2)` +
`(12)^(2)`

= 144 + 144

`t^(2)` = 288

t =
`√(288)`

t = 16.9706

t = 17 centimetres

The length of a diagonal of the flag is 17 centimetres.

So that,

The centimetres of ribbon required to make the "X" = 2 x diagonal

= 2 x 17

= 34

The centimetres of ribbon required to make the "X" is 34 centimetres.