Question

a pigeon was sitting 3 meters from the base of a telephone pole and flew 7 meters to reach the top of the pole. how tall is the telephone pole? if necessary, round to the nearest tenth. meters

Explanation:

Step1: Identify right triangle sides

Let pole height = $h$ (vertical leg), horizontal distance = $3$ m, hypotenuse = $7$ m. Use Pythagorean theorem: $a^2 + b^2 = c^2$

Step2: Rearrange for pole height

Isolate $h^2$: $h^2 = c^2 - a^2$
$h^2 = 7^2 - 3^2$

Step3: Calculate squared values

Compute squares: $h^2 = 49 - 9 = 40$

Step4: Solve for height and round

Take square root: $h = \sqrt{40} \approx 6.3$

Answer:

6.3 meters