A 20-foot-tall flag pole casts a shadow that is 15 feet long. Which of the following correctly uses the Pythagorean Theorem to solve for the distance from the top of the flag pole to the tip of its shadow?
Let the distance from the top of the flag pole to the tip of its shadow be represented as x.
According to the Pythagorean Theorem, in a right-angled triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
Therefore, we have:
(20)^2 = x^2 + (15)^2
400 = x^2 + 225
x^2 = 400 - 225
x^2 = 175
Taking the square root of both sides gives us:
x = √175
Therefore, the distance from the top of the flag pole to the tip of its shadow is √175 feet.