ANSWER:
30 ft
STEP-BY-STEP EXPLANATION:
From the statement we can make the following drawing of the situation:
We calculate the value of x by means of the Pythagorean theorem:
[tex]\begin{gathered} h^2=a^2+b^2 \\ h=50 \\ a=40 \\ b=x \end{gathered}[/tex]
replacing and resolving:
[tex]\begin{gathered} 50^2=40^2+x^2 \\ x^2=2500-1600 \\ x=\sqrt[]{900} \\ x=30 \end{gathered}[/tex]
