Question

Brett wants to paint the exterior of his two-story home but does not know what length ladder he should buy. The top of his roof is 29 ft above ground level, and (for safety reasons) the ladder should not be at more than an 80° angle from the ground. How long, rounded up to the nearest foot, is the shortest ladder that Brett should buy?

Answer 1

sin80˚= 29/x; x= 29.44
so after rounding is 30 ft

Answer 2

Brett should buy a ladder of minimum 30 ft length.

Explanation:

Brett wants to paint his exterior of a double story home.

Height of the roof of the second story from the ground = 29 feet

Maximum angle between the ground and the ladder should be = 80°

Now from the figure,

sin 80° =
`(AB)/(AC)`

0.9848 =
`(29)/(AC)`

AC =
`(29)/(0.9848)`

AC = 29.45

≈ 30 ft

Therefore, Brett should buy a ladder of minimum 30 ft length.