If a bird is sitting 30m along the first wall and a cat is 34m along the top of the other wall, how far apart are the cat and the bird?
in Trigonometry Answers by Level 1 User (180 points)
How high and far apart are the walls?

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1 Answer

Let x=distance apart of the walls which are in parallel. Let h=difference in height of the walls.

The horizontal distance along the wall between the cat and bird is 34-30=4m.

The horizontal distance between the walls (their distance apart) is x.

The vertical distance (their relative heights) is h.

The shortest distance between the cat and bird is √(x^2+h^2+16).


If the walls are of equal height, h=0. If x=3m, the distance=√(9+16)=√25=5m.


If h=2m, x=4m, this distance is √(16+4+16)=√36=6m.

If h=3m, x=12m, it's √(144+9+16)=√169=13m.

If the walls are perpendicular and of the same height then the answer is √(30^2+34^2)=45.34m approx.

If the walls are at an angle, we need to know what that angle is.

by Top Rated User (1.2m points)
i dont have 13 as an option :/

I quoted examples, not solutions, because there is insufficient information in the question to answer the question except in the most general sense. If you have that information, use it to plug in values for x and h (x is the gap between two walls if they are parallel, and h is the difference in their heights). If the walls are perpendicular and of the same height then the answer is √(30^2+34^2)=45.34m approx. You need to provide more information.

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