During a particularly bad storm, a tree's trunk snapped but did not completely break. The lower part of the trunk is left standing. The upper part remains attached to the lower part but fell so that the top of the tree now touches the ground.

Now, the lower part of the trunk makes one leg of a right triangle, and the upper part of the trunk is the hypotenuse.

The distance along the ground between the top of the tree and the bottom of the trunk is the same as the length of the other leg of the right triangle.

A fallen tree as described in the problem, with a right triangle superimposed on the photo.
Figure © 2017 StrongMind; Fallen Tree: Bruce MacQueen/Shutterstock

Suppose the tree was originally 59 feet tall, and the part of the trunk left standing is 18 feet tall. Use this information to calculate how far from the bottom of the trunk the top of the tree landed.

Step 1 of 4
The tree was 59 feet tall before the storm, and the part of the trunk left standing is 18 feet tall. How long is the hypotenuse of the right triangle, in feet?

Enter your answer as a number, like this: 42