Pythagorean Theory Word Problems

A 12-foot ladder is leaning against a building. If the base of the ladder is 5 feet from the base of the house, how high up the house will the ladder reach?

• 13

• 10.9

• 169

A television’s size is measured by the

diagonal length of the screen. If a television is 24 inches tall and 32 inches wide, find its diagonal length.

• 13

• 75

• 40

The infield of a softball diamond is shaped like a square. If the distance between bases is 60 feet, find the diagonal distance from third base to first base.

The local college has a swimming pool that

measures 50 m long and 25 m wide. If you swam from one corner to the other, how far would you swim?

• 75

• 55.9

• 43.3

A ladder reaches a vertical height of 19 feet on the side of a building. If the base of the ladder is 10 feet from the base of the house, find the length of the ladder.

Jack’s tent is shaped like an isosceles triangle.

The height of the tent measures 7 feet and the diagonal side measures 9 feet. Find the length of the tent’s base.

• 11.9

• 145.8

• 6.1

• 11.4

Mason is 11 miles from home. If he has driven 6 miles west, how far north must he have travelled?

An area rug has a length of 8 feet and a width of 5 feet. What is the diagonal distance across the rug?

• 9.4

• 6.2

• 9.2

A ramp measures 6 feet long. If the ramp is 12 inches tall, what is the horizontal distance that it covers?