Question #6a822

1 Answer
Mar 26, 2017

#15.5m#

Explanation:

That’s NOT really how the dimensions for sailing are made. But using the context to describe a right triangle with a base of 4m and a length of 15 to find the hypotenuse is fine.
Using the Pythagorean Theorem the “forestay” in this problem is the hypotenuse, whose square is equal to the sum of the squares of the two sides (mast and prow distance in this case).
#15^2 + 4^2 = f^2# ; Forestay length #= sqrt(225 + 16) = 15.5m#