To determine how high a monkey can climb up a pole while chained to a stake, the problem involves a right triangle where the distance from the stake to the pole is 2.15 m and the chain length is 4.50 m. The height the monkey can climb is represented on the y-axis, while the horizontal distance to the pole is on the x-axis. The relationship between these lengths can be analyzed using the Pythagorean theorem, where the hypotenuse is the length of the chain. By applying the theorem, the maximum height can be calculated. This approach effectively combines algebra with trigonometric principles to solve the problem.