Question

A guy wire attached to a vertical pole of height $18m$ is $24m$ 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?

• A. $15.87m$
• B. $16.8m$
• C. $15$
• D. $15.67$

Answer 1

The correct option is A $15.87m$

Consider the wire and pole system as a right angled triangle such that length of pole is the perpendicular, length of wire the hypotenuse and distance between the base of pole and the stack is the base, such that, H = 24 m, P = 18 m
Now, from Pythagoras theorem,
$H^2=P^2+B^2$
${24}^2={18}^2+B^2$
$576=324+B^2$
$B^2=252$
$B=15.87$ m
Thus, distance between the base of the pole and the stack is 15.87 m