A manufacturer recommends attaching a guy wire to its 40-ft antenna at a 45° angle. If the antenna is installed on a flat surface, how long must the guy wire be (to the nearest foot)if it is attached to the antenna 4 ft from the top.
A)51 ft
B)57 ft
C)50 ft
D)36 ft

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The guy wire forms the hypotenuse of a right triangle with legs of length 40 ft and 4 ft. The Pythagorean Theorem gives the length of the guy wire as sqrt(40^2 + 4^2) = sqrt(1600 + 16) = sqrt(1616) = 40.2 ft. To the nearest foot, the length of the guy wire is 40 ft.

A Manufacturer Recommends Attaching a Guy Wire to Its 40-Ft