Tim stretches by leaning against a pole that is 1.5 metres tall and at a right angle to the floor. Tim is standing 0.5 metres away from the pole, how tall is Tim; leaving your answer in terms of metres? (2.d.p)

This can be solved using Pythagoras. We know that the pole is 90 degrees to the floor so the height of the pole is the opposite side. The distance between Tim and the pole is therefore the adjacent and hence we can find the hypotenuse. Using the formula sqrt(a^2+b^2)=c^2 we can substitute in for a=1500cm, b=500cm. This therefore gives us c=1581.14cm. converted back into metres, c=1.58 metres.