Question

lakewood street and fairview avenue intersect. if the diagonal distance across the intersection is 50 feet and lakewood street is 40 feet wide, how wide is fairview avenue? feet

Explanation:

Step1: Apply Pythagorean theorem

Let the width of Fairview Avenue be $x$. According to the Pythagorean theorem $a^{2}+b^{2}=c^{2}$, where $c = 50$ (diagonal) and $a = 40$ (width of Lakewood Street), and $b=x$. So we have $40^{2}+x^{2}=50^{2}$.

Step2: Rearrange the equation

$x^{2}=50^{2}-40^{2}$. Calculate $50^{2}=2500$ and $40^{2}=1600$. Then $x^{2}=2500 - 1600=900$.

Step3: Solve for $x$

Take the square - root of both sides. Since $x>0$, $x=\sqrt{900}=30$.

Answer:

30