A guy wire attached to a vertical pole of height 18 m is 24 m long and has a stake attached to the other end. How far from the base of the pole should the stake be driven so that the wire will be taut ?
Let AB be the pole and AC be the wire.
By Pythagoras theorem,
AC2 = AB2 + BC2
242 = 182 + BC2
BC2 = 576 - 324
BC2 = 252
BC = 6√7m
Therefore, the distance from the base is 6√7m.
