Chapter P, Prerequisites - Section P.9 - Modeling with Equations - P.9 Exercises - Page 73: 68

4.55 ft

Let the height of the triangle formed (which is equal to the height of the break) be x. The diagonal of the triangle is then 10 - x. Using the Pythagorean Theorem, we can solve for x: x2+32=(10−x)2 x2+9=100−20x+x2 20x=91 x=4.55 Therefore, the height of the break is 4.55 ft.