Question

A scout group is setting up a tent at camp. Because rain is predicted, the scouts decide to build a fly, or rain cover, over the tent. The fly will be 12 feet high and 16 feet wide. The scouts are building the frame for the fly with poles slanted to meet over the top of the tent. What is the minimum length of the poles needed to support the fly?

Answer 1

Most of the information's required for finding the answer is already given in the question. 
Height of the fly = 12 feet
Width of the fly = 16 feet
Now we can find the length of the poles using Pythagoras theorem.

Length of the poles = square root [(12)^2 + (8)^2]
                               = square root (144 + 64)
                               = square root (208)
                               = 14.4 feet

From the above deduction, we can conclude that the height of the poles needed to be 14.4 feet. I hope the answer has helped you.