Word Problems: Pythagorean Theorem

The slide at the playground has a height of 6 feet. The base of the slide measured on the ground is 8 feet. What is the length of the slide?

• 8 feet

• 5.29 feet

• 10 feet

• 14 feet

The bottom of a 13-foot straight ladder is set into the ground 5 feet away from a wall. When the top of the ladder is leaned against the wall, what is the distance above the ground it will reach?

• 12 feet

• 13.9 feet

• 169 feet

• 18 feet

A baseball "diamond" is actually a square with sides of 90 feet. If a runner tries to steal second base, how far must the catcher, at home plate, throw to get the runner "out"? (Distance across the diagonal)

• 180 feet

• 90 feet

• 13.4 feet

• 127.3 feet

Your family wants to purchase a new laptop with a 17" widescreen. Since the 17 inches represents the diagonal measurement of the screen (upper corner to lower corner), you want to find out the actual dimensions of the laptop. When you measured the laptop at the store, the height was 10 inches, but you don't remember the width. Calculate the width of the laptop to the nearest tenth of an inch.

• 7 inches

• 10 inches

• 19.7 inches

• 13.7 inches

(Sketch a picture to help!)

A soccer field is a rectangle 90 meters wide and 120 meters long. The coach asks players to run from one corner to the other corner diagonally across the field. How far do the players run?

• 105 meters

• 79.4 meters

• 210 meters

• 150 meters

A pool table is 9 feet long and 5 feet wide. How far is it from one corner pocket to the diagonally opposite corner pocket? Round to the nearest tenth if necessary.

• 10.2 ft

• 10.3 ft

• 106 ft

• 14 ft

The course for a local mud race has the shape of a right triangle. The legs consist of a 2 mile obstacle course on foot and a 4 mile swim course. What is the distance of the cycling course? Round to the nearest tenth if necessary.

• 4.4 miles

• 4.5 miles

• 10 miles

• 6 miles

Jarvis drives due North for 32 miles then drives East 17 miles. How far is Jarvis from his starting point? Round to the nearest tenth if necessary.

• 36.2 miles

• 36.3 miles

• 49 miles

• 15 miles

Kara's television is 35 inches wide and 28 inches high. How is Kara's tv advertised (diagonal length)? Round to the nearest whole number.

• 44 inches

• 45 inches

• 63 inches

• 7 inches

Shaylyn has a piece of paper measuring 9.5 inches by 9.5 inches. If she folds the paper diagonally in half, how long is the folded side? Round to the nearest tenth if necessary.

• 13.4 inches

• 10 inches

• 18 inches

• 11 inches