Question

Two poles of height 13 m and 7 m respectively stand vertically on a plane ground at a distance of 8 m from each other. The distance between their tops is ______.

Options

• 9 m

• 10 m

• 11 m

• 12 m

Answer 1

Two poles of height 13 m and 7 m respectively stand vertically on a plane ground at a distance of 8 m from each other. The distance between their tops is 10 m.

Explanation:

The vertical difference between the tops is 13 – 7 = 6 m and the horizontal distance between their bases is 8 m.

These form the two legs of a right triangle, so the distance between the tops = `sqrt(8^2 + 6^2)`

= `sqrt(64 + 36)` 

= `sqrt(100)` 

= 10 m