Ben is building a storage box for the sail of his boat. The left side of the box is 6 feet long and the right side of the box is 8 feet long. The left and right side form a right angle, as shown in the picture below.
Note: Figure is not drawn to scale.
What is the length of the base of the box?
A.
14 feet
B.
9 feet
C.
10 feet
D.
7 feet
C. 10 feet
This is a right triangle, so we can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of the base of the box.
a^2 + b^2 = c^2
6^2 + 8^2 = c^2
36 + 64 = c^2
100 = c^2
c = √100
c = 10
Therefore, the length of the base of the box is 10 feet.