There is a slide in the park that is 18 feet long. The ladder to the top of the slide is 7.5 feet long. If the ladder and the slide are perpendicular, what is "D", the distance from the top of the slide to the ground? Explain how you got your answer.
To find the distance "D" from the top of the slide to the ground, we can use the Pythagorean theorem. The Pythagorean theorem states that in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
In this case, the ladder, the slide, and the ground form a right triangle, with the ladder as the hypotenuse. We know that the length of the ladder is 7.5 feet.
Let's denote the distance from the top of the slide to the ground as "D." We also know that the length of the slide is 18 feet.
According to the Pythagorean theorem, we can set up the following equation:
(D^2) + (18^2) = (7.5^2)
Simplifying and solving for D, we have:
D^2 = (7.5^2) - (18^2)
D^2 = 56.25 - 324
D^2 = -267.75
As the result is negative, it indicates that there is no real solution. This means that the dimensions given in the problem are not logically possible, and there may be an error in the calculations or the given information.