Problema Solution
2) A ladder is leaning against a building so that the distance from the ground to the top of the ladder is 4 feet less than the length of the ladder. Find the length of the ladder is the distance from the bottom of the ladder to the building is 8 feet.
Answer provided by our tutors
let 'x' represent the length of the ladder, then 'x-4' represents the distance from the ground to the top of the ladder
this is a right triangle problem with legs of 'x' and '8' and a hypotenuse of 'x-4'
we want to solve:
x^2 = (x-4)^2 + 8^2
solving for 'x' we have x=10
the length of the ladder is 10 feet