Question

A ladder reaches a window 20 feet above the ground. The foot of the ladder is 4 feet from the wall. Which of the following measures correspond to the length to the laddder? Round to the nearest hundredth

Answer 1

20.40

Explanation:

Test Yourself

Answer 2

20.40
`ft^(2)`

When this situation is drawn out, it forms a right triangle (as shown in the attached image). The sides that are given are the two legs of the triangle. The side that is missing is the hypotenuse. The missing side can be found using the pythagorean theorem:
`a^(2) + b^(2) = c^(2)`

A = 20
B= 4
C = ?

This process is shown in the attached image. The length of the missing side (ladder) rounded to the nearest hundredth is 20.40
`ft^(2)`