Pythagorean Word Problems with Pictures

Casey travels from her house directly west to the bank and then directly north from the bank to the mall. She then travels home on the road connecting the mall and her house. What is her total distance traveled?

• 17 miles

• 32 miles

• 37 miles

• 40 miles

The top of a ladder is leaning against a vertical wall, 12 feet above the floor. The bottom of the ladder is resting on the floor, 9 feet from the base of the wall. How long is the ladder?

• 15 feet

• 17 feet

• 19 feet

• 21 feet

You need a ladder that will reach up a 25 foot tall house when placed 10 feet away from the house. How tall does the ladder need to be?

• 25 feet

• 26 feet

• 27 feet

• 28 feet

A rectangular field is 50 yards wide and 100 yards long. Patrick walks diagonally across the field. How far does he walk?

• 111.8 yards

• 115 yards

• 127.3 yards

• 119 yards

Find the missing length indicated. Leave your answer in simplest radical form.

• 64

• 12

• 9

• 100

Find the length of the missing side. 

• 48 in.

• 52 in.

• 16 in.

• 24 in.

What are some keywords or phrases in a word problem that tell you to use the pythagorean theorem? Check all that apply.

• Order the real numbers from least to greatest

• A rectangle with a diagonal

• A ladder leaning against a wall

• Find the corresponding angles

• When you are asked to find the distance

_{^{Find the missing side}}

• 48

• 108

• 83.6

• 72

Solve for the length indicated.

• 9

• 10

• 11

• 12

Find the missing length.

• 12

• 10

• 16

• 5