Problema Solution
a 21 fot ladder is placed against a vertical wall of a building, with the bottom of the ladder standing on the level ground 7 feet from the base of the building. How high up the wall does the ladder reach?
Answer provided by our tutors
the ladder, the wall and the ground make up a right triangle with legs: a = 7 ft and b = the height on the wall and hypotenuse c = 21 ft
using the Pythagorean Theorem we have
a^2 + b^2 = c^2
b^2 = c^2 - a^2
b^2 = 21^2 - 7^2
b = 19.8 ft
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the ladder is reaching 19.8 ft up the wall.