Question

Two poles of heights 6 m and 11 m stand on a plane ground. If the distance between their feet is 12 m, find the distance between their tops.

Answer 1

Let CD and AB be the poles of height 11 m and 6 m. 

Then, its seen that CP = 11 – 6 = 5 m. 

From the figure, AP should be 12 m (given)

In triangle APC, by applying Pythagoras theorem, we have 

AP² + PC² = AC² 

12² + 5² = AC² 

AC² = 144 + 25 = 169 

∴ AC = 13 (by taking sq. root on both sides) 

Thus, the distance between their tops = 13 m.