You have been asked to help a welder who is trying to weld mild steel plates to form a tank. He needs help making sure that the sides are vertical.
Describe how you could use Pythagoras' theorem to ensure the sides are vertical.
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Using Pythagoras' theorem is to ensure that the sides of the tank are vertical by checking for right angles at the corners of the tank.
• start by marking the corners of the tank where you want to ensure the sides are vertical and these should be the
points where the steel plates meet at right angles.
• measure the length of one side of the tank and lets call it "a" and
measure the lenght of the other side of the tank and lets call it "b"
• calculate the diagonal by using the Pythagora's theorem which states that the squre of the length of the hypotenuse
(the diagonal) of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the two sides. In this case the diagonal is the
hypotenuse. And calculate the length of the diagonal (let's call it "c") using the theorem: $$c^2 = a^2 + b^2$$.
• measure the diagonal using tape measure or ruler, measure the calculated diagonal length "c" on the tanks surface,
make sure the measurement from corner to corner is equal to "c".
• checking for the right by verifying that the sides are perpendicular (from a 90-degree angle). If the sides are
perpendicular, it means the tank's sides are vertical.
• adjust as necessary if you find that the side are not perpendicular, you may need to make adjusments to the steel
plates by shifting them until the right angles are formed.
Using Pythagora's theorem and the measurements, we can be confident that the sides of the tank are vertical, which is crucial for ensuring the tank's structural integrity. This method helps us
achieve accurate right angles at the corners, and to ensure that the structures are built correctly.
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You are recommended to apply the 3-4-5 method to answer this question.