Solve the problem...

Question

A 26-foot long support wire for a radio tower stretches from its mooring point on the tower to a point on the ground x feet from the base of the tower. The height at which the wire attaches to the tower is 4 feet less than twice the distance from the tower to its anchor on the ground. At what height does the wire attach to the tower?

Answer 1

See the diagram and solution here:

http://hwmath.net/solutions/wiretower99.jpg

 

When you get these types of questions, draw a picture and label everything that you can.

Answer 2

If you Draw the picture, you'll get what appears to be a right triangle. Whenever you see a right triangle, in algebra, it's pretty safe to assume that you'll be using Pythagorean Theorem. Always draw the picture. Hope this helps, and if it doesn't i'll provide a little more detail.