Question

An electrician needs to run a cable from the top of a 40​-foot tower to a transmitter box located 30 feet away from the base of the tower. Find how long he should cut the cable.

Answer 1

The cable should be 50 feet.

If you draw the picture, you will see that you have a right triangle.

Let's just use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the hypotenuse (or cable).

30^2 + 40^2 = c^2
2500 = c^2
50 = c