Question

A landowner wants to find the distance d across a pond. The two overlapping right triangles are similar . Using the measurements shown , what is d?

Answer 1

96 m

Explanation:

It is given that the two overlapping triangles are similar in the figure.

The landowner wishes to find the distance across the pond. The distance is d.

From the figure, since the two triangles are similar, therefore we can write :

`$(d)/((24+40))=(60)/(40)$`

`$(d)/(64)=(60)/(40)$`

`$d = (60)/(40) * 64$`

`$d = (6)/(4) * 64$`

d = 6 x 16

= 96 m

Therefore, the distance across the pond is d = 96 m