A guy wire attached to a vertical pole of height 18 m is 24 m long and has a stake attached to the other end. How far from the base of the pole should the stake be driven so that the wire will be taut?

Given, a guy wire attached to a vertical pole of height 18 m is 24 m long and has a stake attached to the other end.



Let AB be the pole and AC be the wire.

By Pythagoras theorem,

\(AC^2 = AB^2 + BC^2\)
\(24^2 = 18^2 + BC^2\)
\(BC^2 = 576 – 324\)
\(BC^2 = 252\)
\(BC = 6 \sqrt{7} \)m

Therefore, the distance from the base is \(6 \sqrt{7} \) m