Question

Andrew needs a ladder to hang holiday lights. His house is 24 feet tall and he has a flower bed that extends 4 feet out from the side of the house. How long of a ladder will he need to reach the top and be out of the flower bed?

Answer 1

24.33 feet

Explanation:

The flower bed, the ladder and the house form a right angled triangle where the length of the ladder is the hypotenuse side.

Let L = length of ladder, H = height of house = 24 feet and l = length of flower bed = 4 feet.

Using Pythagoras' theorem,

L² = H² + l²

So, L = √(H² + l²)

substituting the values of the variables, we have

L = √[(24 ft)² + (4 ft)²]

L = √[576 ft² + 16 ft²]

L = √[592 ft²]

L = 24.33 ft

The ladder must be at least 24.33 feet long to reach the top and be out of the flower bed