# Trigonometry and figuring out the length of the hypotenuse

## Homework Statement

A monkey is chained to a stake in the ground. The stake is 2.15 m from a vertical pole, and the chain is 4.50 m long. How high can the monkey climb up the pole?
The answer is given in meters

rock.freak667
Homework Helper
What attempt have you made? Which trig function do you think should be used?

I was not too sure where to start. I know that I have both of the lengths but I am confused about how to approach the problem

try drawing a picture and labeling the parts and looking at the various angles in the problem

okay so i have a right triangle and is the height that can be climbed the hypotenuse?

the hypotenuse would probably be the length of the chain, since I would imagine the 90 degree angle in this right triangle would be the angle between the pole and the ground

Welcome to PF.
This problem can be solved with just algebra and the Pythagorean theorem.
The monkey walks over 2.15 m from the stake to the pole (x-axis).
The monkey climbs up the pole an unknown amount (y-axis).
The maximum chain length is 4.50 m (hypotenuse).