A rectangular garbage can is 15 inches long, 12 inches wide and 30 inches tall. To the nearest tenth, what is the approximate length of its

Thanks, Anonymous......we can actually do this in one step....we have

d =√[15^2 + 30^2 + 12^2 ] =

√[225 + 900 + 144]  =

√1269 = 35.6 inches

You can use the Pythagorean Theorem twice.

The diagonal across the bottom has the sides of a right triangle 12 and 15. Diagonal= 19.2 (don't round result just yet).

Then use this diagonal and the given height (30) in another triangle.

The diagonal of the new triangle is 35.6 to the nearest tenth.