Question

beth is building a slide for her kids. the ladder is 3.7 feet tall and the slide is 9.3 feet long. what is the distance between the ladder and the bottom of the slide? if necessary, round to the nearest tenth. feet

Explanation:

Step1: Apply Pythagorean theorem

Let \(a = 3.7\), \(c=9.3\). According to \(a^{2}+b^{2}=c^{2}\), we can get \(b^{2}=c^{2}-a^{2}\).

Step2: Substitute values

\(b^{2}=9.3^{2}-3.7^{2}=86.49 - 13.69=72.8\).

Step3: Calculate \(b\)

\(b=\sqrt{72.8}\approx8.5\).

Answer:

\(8.5\)