Question

Jorge is setting up his tent. He is using two nylon ropes to pull the tent taut and stabilize it at each end. If the tent is 5 feet tall, and Jorge stakes the ropes into the ground 3 feet from the tent, what is the total length of nylon rope he will use, to the nearest tenth of a foot? Show all of your work. PLEASE HELP ME !!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

Answer: 5.8 ft

Step-by-step explanation:

We can use the Pithagorean Theorem in this problem, in order to find the length of the rope:

$h^{2}=a^{2}+b^{2}$

Where:

$h$ is the length of the rope (the hypotenuse of the right triangle formed by the height of the tent, the rope and the ground)

$a=5 ft$ is the height of the tent (one of the legs of the right triangle)

$b=3 ft$ is the other leg of the right triangle

Solving the equation with the given data:

$h^{2}=5^{2}+3^{2}$

Finding $h$:

$h=\sqrt{(5 ft)^{2}+(3 ft)^{2}}$

$h=\sqrt{25 ft+9 ft}$

$h=5.83 ft \approx 5.8 ft$ This is the total length of nylon rope