Question

A 15-foot ladder rests against a wall. The base of the ladder is 8 feet from the wall.

How far is the top of the ladder from the ground?



Enter your answer, as a decimal rounded to the nearest tenth, in the box

Answer 1

12.7 ft

Explanation:

Answer 2

We can see that the ladder and the wall form a right triangle.
15 ft is a hypotenuse, 8 ft is one of the legs.
We can use Pythagorean theorem.
hypothenuse ² =(leg1)² + (leg2)²
15²= (leg1)² + 8²
(leg1)² = 15² -8²
(leg1)² = 161
leg1 = √161 ≈ 12.7ft

Answer is 12.7 ft