Question

Due to strong wind, a part of tree $18m$ high broke at a distance of $5m$ from the ground, without separating from the main stem, top of the tree touched the ground. At what distance from the foot of the step did the top of the tree fall on the ground?

Answer 1

The given problem modelled as a right angle triangle as follow:

Where, the part of tree broke is $AB=18m$
The distance from foot to tree top is $BC=5m$
Let the distance from the foot of the step to the top of the tree fall on the ground is $AC=hm$
From the Pythagorastheorem, we have
${18}^2=h^2+5^2{h}^2=324-25h^2=299\therefore h=\sqrt{299}m$