Pythagorean Challenges: Distance & Word Problems for 8th Graders

A ladder is leaning against a wall. The foot of the ladder is 6 feet away from the wall, and the top of the ladder reaches 8 feet high on the wall. How long is the ladder?

• 8 feet

• 10 feet

• 12 feet

• 6 feet

Two friends are standing at points A and B in a park. Point A is at (2, 3) and point B is at (8, 7). What is the distance between them?

• 3√10

• 4√5

• 5√2

• 2√13

A rectangular garden has a length of 10 meters and a width of 6 meters. What is the length of the diagonal of the garden?

• 12 meters

• 11.66 meters

• 9 meters

• 10.5 meters

A right triangle has one leg measuring 9 cm and the other leg measuring 12 cm. What is the length of the hypotenuse?

• 15 cm

• 13 cm

• 10 cm

• 17 cm

A baseball diamond is a square with each side measuring 90 feet. What is the distance from home plate to second base?

• 45√2 feet

• 90 feet

• 90√2 feet

• 180 feet

A kite is flying at a height of 15 meters. If the string is pulled taut and makes a 60-degree angle with the ground, how far is the kite from the person holding the string?

• 12√3 meters

• 10√3 meters

• 20 meters

• 5 meters

A right triangle has a hypotenuse of 13 cm and one leg measuring 5 cm. What is the length of the other leg?

• 6 cm

• 12 cm

• 8 cm

• 10 cm

A park has a walking path that forms a right triangle. One leg of the triangle is 24 meters long, and the other leg is 10 meters long. How long is the path across the diagonal?

• 22 meters

• 30 meters

• 26 meters

• 20 meters

A rectangular swimming pool is 20 meters long and 15 meters wide. What is the distance from one corner of the pool to the opposite corner?

• 25 meters

• 30 meters

• 20 meters

• 15 meters

A right triangle has a hypotenuse of 10 inches and one leg measuring 6 inches. What is the length of the other leg?

• 7 inches

• 8 inches

• 9 inches

• 5 inches