A room has a 20-foot ceiling. From the ceiling hang two electrical cords 16 feet and 18 feet long.
At the end of one is a plug, and at the end of the other is a receptacle. The electrician is tall, and can reach up to 8 feet from the floor.
How far apart can the two cords be, yet still be possible for the electrician to connect them?
It seems too easy - maybe I am missing something... The cord ends must hang 12'=20-8' down and for max separation and each make an hypotenuse with this drop. Along the ceiling, the hanging points are separated from this drop point and thus from each other adding as: sqrt(16^2-12^2) + sqrt(18^2-12^2) = 6 sqrt 5 + 4 sqrt 7 = 23.9994...
Edited on March 19, 2024, 7:31 pm
soln
