Question

Question 10
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 AB be the pole and AC be the wire.
By applying Pythagoras theorem,
$A{C}^2=A{B}^2+B{C}^2$
${24}^2={18}^2+B{C}^2$
$B{C}^2=576-324$
$B{C}^2=252$
$BC=6\sqrt{7}m$
Therefore, the distance from the base is $6\sqrt{7}m$.