Question

The drawing below shows a ladder leaning against a building. Part A: how tall is the building? Round your answer to the nearest tenth. Show or explain your answer using words, numbers, and/or symbols I. Your explanation.

Answer 1

17.3 ft

1) In this problem Since that height is always perpendicular, we have here a right triangle formed by the ladder to the wall

2) We have the hypotenuse and one leg. Let's calculate the missing leg.

a² =b² +c ²

hypotenuse² = leg² +leg²

20² =10² +c²

400 = 100 + c²

400 - 100 = c²

300 = c²

√c² =√300

c =17.32 ≈ 17.3 ft.

3) Hence the height of that building is approximately 17.3 ft