Question

A string is tied to the top of a plant to keep it stabilized. The plant is 5 feet tall and the string is connected to the ground 2 feet from the base of the plant. How long is the string?

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

To find the length of the string, we can use the Pythagorean theorem, which states that in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

In this case, the plant forms the vertical side of the right triangle (5 feet tall) and the distance from the base of the plant to where the string is connected forms the horizontal side of the right triangle (2 feet). The string itself will be the hypotenuse of the right triangle.

Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can calculate the length of the string:

string^2 = plant^2 + distance^2
string^2 = 5^2 + 2^2
string^2 = 25 + 4
string^2 = 29

Taking the square root of both sides gives us:

string = √29 = approximately 5.39 feet

Therefore, the length of the string is approximately 5.39 feet.