Question

A guy wire attached to a vertical pole of height 18 m is 24 m long and has a stake attached to the other end. How far from the base of the pole should the stake be driven so that the wire will be taut?

Answer 1

Let OB be the pole and AB be the wire.

By Pythagoras theorem,

AB² = OB² + OA²

(24m)² = (18m)² + OA²

OA² = (576 - 324)m² = 25 m²

OA² = `sqrt252 `

 Therefore, the distance from the base is `6sqrt7 m`