A surveyor holds a laser range finder 3 feet above the ground and determines that the range finder is 112 feet from a building and 131 feet from the top of the building. What is the height (h) of the building? Round your answer to the nearest tenth.
The range finder is 112 feet from the building ( adjacent ) and 131 feet from the top of the building ( hypotenuse ). We will use the Pythagorean theorem: x² = 131² - 112² x² = 17,161 - 12,544 x² = 4,617 x = √ 4,617 x = 67.948 The height of the building: h = x + 3 = 67.948 + 3 = 70.948 ≈ 70.9 ft ( to the nearest tenth ) Answer: h = 70.9 feet.
