Lesson 6 Homework Practice Use The Pythagorean Theorem -

The old lighthouse on Breaker Point had been silent for forty years, but Sarah’s geometry teacher, Mr. Elian, had given her class an unusual challenge: "Use the Pythagorean Theorem to solve a real problem, or create one."

The next day in class, Mr. Elian held up Sarah’s homework. "This is what I wanted," he said. "You didn't just plug numbers into a formula. You found the hidden right triangle in a real place." Lesson 6 Homework Practice Use The Pythagorean Theorem

Most kids measured TV screens or ladder heights. But Sarah’s Nonna had just bought the lighthouse at auction. "It’s a fixer-upper," her grandmother had said, handing Sarah a dusty floor plan. "But the old spiral staircase is gone. We need to install a new fire escape ladder from the lantern room to the ground." The old lighthouse on Breaker Point had been

"If I put the ladder straight down from A to B," Sarah murmured, "it's 40 feet. But the ground slopes away. The building code says the ladder’s foot must rest on stable ground at Point C, 30 horizontal feet from the lighthouse wall." "This is what I wanted," he said