203k views
9 votes
A 12 foot ladder leans against a wall so that the base of the ladder is 7 feet from the wall. How high up on the wall will the ladder reach? Round to the nearest hundredth of a foot.

User Garry
by
7.5k points

1 Answer

8 votes
Answer 9.75 ft
Reason
Using the Pythagorean theory,
a^2 + b^2 = c^2 (the hypotenuse)
Since we know the diagonal measurement (the hypotenuse) we will call c=12
We know one leg is 7, so we will call b=7
Now we will solve for “a”
Changing the equation to subtract
c^2 - b^2 = a^2
Substitute in our numbers
12^2 - 7^2 = a^2
144-49= a^2
95 = a^2
Take square root of both sides

9.746 = “a” the unknown length
Round to nearest hundredth
9.75
User Luke Pittman
by
8.1k points

No related questions found

Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.