Asked by Joscelyn Riddles on May 19, 2024

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A semicircular arch for a tunnel under a river has a diameter of 80 feet (see figure) . Determine the height of the arch 4 feet from the edge of the tunnel.  A semicircular arch for a tunnel under a river has a diameter of 80 feet (see figure) . Determine the height of the arch 4 feet from the edge of the tunnel.   A) 36 feet B)   12 \sqrt { 11 }  feet C)   4 \sqrt { 19 }  feet D)   4 \sqrt { 399 }  feet E)   6  feet

A) 36 feet
B) 121112 \sqrt { 11 }1211 feet
C) 4194 \sqrt { 19 }419 feet
D) 43994 \sqrt { 399 }4399 feet
E) 666 feet

Semicircular Arch

An arch that forms half of a circle and is often used in architectural designs.

Diameter

A straight line segment passing through the center of a circle or sphere and terminating on both sides of the perimeter, effectively measuring the largest distance across the shape.

  • Calculate heights or other specific details related to the shapes, including arches.
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Verified Answer

JL
Jeffery LouisMay 26, 2024
Final Answer :
C
Explanation :
Using the diameter of the arch, we can find the radius to be 40 feet.
Let's call the center of the semicircle point O, and let's call the point where the arch meets the ground (four feet from the edge of the tunnel) point A.
Then we can draw a right triangle OAB, where OB is the radius of the semicircle (40 ft), OA is the height we want to find (let's call it h), and AB is half of the length of the tunnel (40 ft).
Using the Pythagorean theorem, we get:
AB2+OA2=OB2AB^2+OA^2=OB^2AB2+OA2=OB2
(402)+(h2)=(80)2(40^2)+(h^2)=(80)^2(402)+(h2)=(80)2
Simplifying and solving for h, we get:
h=802−402=(40)(120)=(4⋅10)(4⋅30)=410⋅30=4300=43⋅100=43⋅100=43⋅10=403h=\sqrt{80^2-40^2}=\sqrt{(40)(120)}=\sqrt{(4\cdot10)(4\cdot30)}=4\sqrt{10\cdot30}=4\sqrt{300}=4\sqrt{3\cdot100}=4\sqrt{3}\cdot\sqrt{100}=4\sqrt{3}\cdot10=40\sqrt{3}h=802402=(40)(120)=(410)(430)=41030=4300=43100=43100=4310=403
Then, using similar triangles, we can find that the height 4 feet from the edge of the tunnel is $\frac{4}{40}=\frac{1}{10}$ of this value:
110(403)=43⋅1010=430100=40.3=43⋅0.1=23⋅10≈(C) 419 feet\frac{1}{10}(40\sqrt{3})=4\sqrt{3}\cdot\frac{\sqrt{10}}{10}=4\sqrt{\frac{30}{100}}=4\sqrt{0.3}=4\sqrt{3}\cdot\sqrt{0.1}=2\sqrt{3}\cdot\sqrt{10}\approx\boxed{\textbf{(C)}\ 4\sqrt{19}\text{ feet}}101(403)=431010=410030=40.3=430.1=2310(C) 419 feet