Chapter 10.2, Problem 46E

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to solve Exercises 39-46. Use your calculator to find square roots, rounding, if necessary, to the nearest tenth.

Picky, Picky, Picky This problem appeared on a high school mi exam:

Alex Is building a ramp for a hike competition, lie has two rectangular hoards. One hoard b six meters and the other B five meters long, li the ramp has to form a right triangle, what should its height he?

Students were asked to select the correct answer from the following options:

3 meters: 4 meters: 3.3 meters: 7H meters.

a. Among the available choices, which option best expresses the ramp's height? How many feet, to the nearest tenth of a foot, b this? Docs a bike competition that requires riders to jump off these heights seem realistic? (ouch!)

b. Express the ramp's height to the nearest hundredth of a meter. By how many centimeters does this differ from the "correct" answer on the test? How many inches, to the nearest half inch, is this? Is it likely that a carpenter with a tape measure would make this error?

c. According to the problem. Alex has boards that measure 5 meters and 6 meters. A 6-meters board? How many feel, to the nearest tenth of a foot, is this? When was the last time you found a board of the length at Home Depot? (Source: The New York Times, April 24. 2005)