Chapter 8 - Section 8.1 - The Square Root Property and Completing the Square - Exercise Set - Page 595: 87

The required length of the supporting wire is $c= 50\sqrt{2} ft$.

Using the Pythagorean theorem $c^2 = a^2 + b^2$, the length of the wire can be obtained by setting up an equation for the hypotenuse, $c$: $a = 50ft$ $b = 50ft$ $c^2 = a^2 + b^2$ $c^2 = 50^2 + 50^2$ $c^2 = 50^2 + 50^2$ $c^2 = 5000$ $c= \sqrt{5000}$ $c= \sqrt{(2500·2)}$ $c= 50\sqrt{2} ft$