Question:

Apple Street and Banana Street meet at a perpendicular angle of 90°. Apple Street is 220m, while
Banana Street is 449m. Both streets form a triangle with Street Cherry. The mayor’s office is on one
end of Street Cherry, while the library is on the other end.

a) Find the length of Street Cherry.

The area is planned for redevelopment. A long pavement is planned to be built between the mayor’s
office and the library by laying slabs of stone one by one along the street. A stone slab has a length
of 30 cm.

b) What is the minimum number of stone slabs needed for the pavement?

Method:

Apple Street = 220m

Banana Street = 449m

Length of Cherry Street = √220² + 449²

= 500 (to 3 s.f.)

No. of slabs needed = 500m ÷ 30cm

= 50000cm ÷ 30cm

= 1667 (min no. of slabs)

 Length of Cherry Street = 500m

Min. no. of slabs needed = 1667