A 12 feet ramp is used to load stuff into the truck which is at a height of 3.5 feet from ground.
The ramp forms a Right triangle with ground and height of truck.
In the Right triangle, hypotenuse is 12 feet and height is 3.5 feet. We need to find horizontal base of right triangle.
We can use Pythagorean theorem that is given by :-
(Hypotenuse)² = (Base)² + (Height)²
(12)² = (Base)² + (3.5)²
144 = (Base)² + 12.25
(Base)² = 144 - 12.25
(Base)² = 131.75
(Base) = √131.75
[tex] Base = \sqrt{131.75} = 11.48 \; feet [/tex]
So, horizontal distance is 11.48 feet.
