Question

A scuba diver has a taut rope connecting the dive boat to an anchor on the ocean floor. The rope is 95 feet long and the water is 40 feet deep. To the nearest tenth of a foot, how far is the anchor from a point directly below the boat?

Answer 1

Setup a right triangle with the boat on top. Striaght down is 40 feet. The rope makes the hypotenuse at 140 feet. The floor of the ocean makes the third side.

40^2 + x^2 = 140^2

When you solve for "x" you get 134.2 feet.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

The triangle is actually 40 down, x across, and 95 for the hypotenuse. 40²+x²=95². you can try the rest of it first and ask if you need help. ok 86.2feet