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 in the box. Round to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

Its basically a triangle

you have 8ft base, and a 15 hypotneuse. you need the height.

8^2 + b^2 = 15^2

64 + b^2 = 225

b^2 = 161

b = 12.68 or 12.7

Answer 2

The top of the ladder is 12.69 feet away from the ground

Explanation:

Length of the ladder is given to be 15 foot

Also, The base of the ladder is 8 feet away from the wall.

Now, The height of the ladder will be perpendicular to the surface of the ground

So, It will form a right angled triangle

Now, The base of the triangle will be 8 feet

Hypotenuse of the triangle will be 15 feet

And we need to find the perpendicular height of the triangle

By using Pythagoras theorem, We have

Hypotenuse² = Base² + Perpendicular²

⇒ 15² = 8² + Perpendicular²

⇒ Perpendicular = 12.69 feet

Therefore, The top of the ladder is 12.69 feet away from the ground