Question

Mr. Miller has a 20-foot ladder, which he

wants to reach 18 feet up the side of his
house. To the nearest foot, how far from the
base of the house should he place the
ladder?

Answer 1

8 ft

Explanation:

the ladder will make a right angle triangle with the house. The hypotenuse of the triangle is the ladder, 20 ft, and the height of the triagnle is 18 ft.

Solve for the base of the right angle triangle using pythagorean's theorem:

c=20, a=18, b=?

`b^(2)=c^(2) - a^(2)\\b^(2)=20^(2) - 18^(2)`

`b=√(72)`

`b= 8.49 ft`

round to the nearest foot,

b = 8 ft