+1245 A "slackrope walker" is much like a tightrope walker except that the rope on which he performs is not pulled tight. Paul, a slackrope walker, has a rope tied to two 15 m high poles which are 14 m apart. When he is standing on the rope 5m away from one of the poles, he is 3m above the ground. How long in meters is the rope?
+37146 Two right triangles with legs 5 and 12 and 9 and 12 Use pythagorean theorem to calculate and add the hypotenuses together.....
+129852 Triangle on the left hypotenuse = sqrt [ 5^2 + (15 - 3)^2 ] = sqrt [ 5^2 + 12^2 ] =
sqrt [ 25 + 144 ] = sqrt [ 169 ] = 13 ft
Triangle on the right hypenuse = sqrt [ (14 - 5)^2 + (15 -3)^2 ] sqrt [ 9^2 + 12^2 ] =
sqrt [ 81 + 144] = sqrt [ 225] = 15 ft
So...the rope length is 13 + 15 = 28 ft
