Question

The length of a suitcase is 36 inches . The diagonal of the suitcase is about 51 inches . What is the width of the suitcase ,rounded to the nearest inch

Answer 1

Given:

The length of a suitcase is 36 inches.

The diagonal of the suitcase is about 51 inches.

We need to determine the width of the suitcase.

Width of the suitcase:

The width of the suitcase can be determined using the Pythagorean theorem.

Thus, we have;

$d^2=l^2+w^2$

where d is the diagonal, l is the length and w is the width.

Substituting the values, we get;

$51^2=36^2+w^2$

Squaring the terms, we have;

$2601=1296+w^2$

Subtracting both sides by 1296, we get;

$1305=w^2$

Taking square root on both sides, we get;

$36.12=w$

Rounding off to the nearest inch, we get;

$36=w$

Thus, the width of the suitcase is 36 inches.