Question

a 5 ft ladder is leaning against a 4 ft wall. how far must the bottom of the ladder be from the base of the wall so that the top of laddet rests at the top of wall?

Answer 1

To solve this, sketch a diagram (I attached one). You will see it the wall and ladder and ground form a right triangle. Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the base.


`a^2+b^2=c^2`


`a^2+4^2=5^2 \\ \\ a^2+16=25 \\ \\ a^2=9 \\ \\ √(a^2) = √(9) \\ \\ a=3`

The bottom of the ladder must be 3 feet from the base of the wall.