Question

27. Jaime is preparing to paint the trim around a window that is 12 feet off the ground. He is going to use a 15 -foot ladder . Which of these shows how far from the base of the house he should place the base of the ladder ? A. 3 feet B. 9 feet C. 19 feet D. 81 feet

Answer 1

B. 9 feet

Explanation:

Using the Pythagorean theorem, the height from the ground to the window (12 ft) is one leg of the right triangle and the length of the ladder while propped against the house (15 ft) is the hypotenuse. Therefore, we need to find the other leg of the right triangle represented by how far the base of the ladder is placed from the base of the house:

a² + b² = c²

12² + b² = 15²

144 + b² = 225

b² = 225 – 144

b² = 81

b = √81 = 9

Therefore, the answer is (B) 9 feet.