1. ## confused

i am having much trouble with this problem and have tried to solve it several ways.
For the home described in exercise 15 (listed below as per equation),; if the roof is 7m from peak to eave and the attic space is 3m high at the peak, how long does each of the piecesof insulation need to be? Round to the nearest tenth.
(exercise 15; a homeowner wishes to insulate her attic with fiberglass in sulation to conserve energy. The insulation comes in 40-cm wide rolls that are cut to fit between the rafters in the attic. if the roof is 6m from peak to eave and the attic space is 2m high at the peak, how long does each of the pieces of insulation need to be? Round to the nerest tenth.)

2. This is a bit oddly worded, I think. What does "peak to eave" mean?

I would think that to be the diagonal measurement - actually crawl up on the roof and measure the distance down the roof. If this is correct, then this is not a very interesting problem. Measure 7m (or 6m) and you are done.

As that version does not result in the student having to know anything, I'm leaning strongly to the horizontal measurement from directly below the peak out to the eaves. In this case, the student would have to recognize a Right Triangle and know the Pythagorean Theorem. 7m x 3m ==> $\sqrt{7^{2}+3^{2}}m$

This is an excellent example where putting the post in the right category might help someone understand the question. Also, showing some work or at the very least indicating what book or section is being studied might be of some assistance. Otherwise, one is just guessing at what is wanted or needed.