Question

Plz help 15 points to best answer. A ladder leans against a building, making a 70 degree angle of elevation with the ground. The top of the ladder reaches a point on the building that is 39 feet above the ground. To the nearest tenth of a foot, what is the distance between the base of the building and the base of the ladder?

13.3
14.2
36.6
41.5

Answer 1

For this case, we can model the problem as a rectangle triangle.
We know the height of the triangle.
We know the angle between the base of the triangle and the hypotenuse.
We want to find the base of the triangle.
For this, we use the following trigonometric relationship:
tan (70) = 39 / x
Clearing x we have:
x = 39 / tan (70)
x = 14.2 feet
Answer:
The distance between the base of the building and the base of the ladder is:
x = 14.2 feet