Question

A building is 2 ft from an 8​-ft fence that surrounds the property. A worker wants to wash a window in the building 12 ft from the ground. He plans to place a ladder over the fence so it rests against the building.​ (See the​ figure.) He decides he should place the ladder 8 ft from the fence for stability. To the nearest tenth of a​ foot, how long a ladder will he​ need?

Answer 1

The will need 16 feet now

Answer 2

length of the ladder should be 16 feet.

Explanation:

In the figure attached,

B is the window at 12 feet from the ground.

Building AB is 2 feet away from the fence DE.

Ladder AC is placed 8 feet away from the fence at a point C.

We apply Pythagoras theorem to calculate the length of the ladder.

AC² = AB² + BC²

AC =
`\sqrt{(12)^(2)+(2+8)^(2)}`

=
`√(144+100)`

=
`√(244)`

= 15.62

≈ 16 feet

Therefore, length of the ladder should be 16 feet.