Question

stefan is in a hot air balloon that has just taken off and is now floating 36 feet above its launching point. perry is standing on the ground, 48 feet away from the launching point. how far apart are stefan and perry? feet

Explanation:

Step1: Recognize the right - triangle

The height of the hot - air balloon (36 feet) and the horizontal distance from Perry to the launching point (48 feet) form the two legs of a right - triangle. Let the distance between Stefan and Perry be \(c\).

Step2: Apply the Pythagorean theorem

The Pythagorean theorem is \(a^{2}+b^{2}=c^{2}\), where \(a = 36\) and \(b = 48\).

$$
LATEXBLOCK0
$$

Step3: Solve for \(c\)

Take the square root of both sides: \(c=\sqrt{3600}=60\)

Answer:

60