Question

i am doing the pythagorean theorum. the bottom of a 13 foot straight ladder is set into the ground 5 feet away from the wall. when the top of the ladder leaner against the wall, what was the distance above the ground it will reach

Answer 1

the pythagorean theorem is a^+b^=c^
13 will be the height of the triangle
5 will be the base of the triangle
so u plug it into the formula.
13^+5^=194
and to find the distance of the triangle u need to find the square root of 194 which is approximately 13.9 so that is your answer.

Answer 2

This is how you solve for the unknown side since 13 is the hypotensue and 5 is a leg.

5^2+b^2=13^2
25+b^2=169
b^2=144
b=12

You can also remember that any triangle with sides 5, 12, 13 is a special right triangle much like one with sides 3, 4, 5

Hope this helps