Question

A 17 foot ladder is placed on a wall. The base of the ladder is 5 feet away from the base of the wall. How far up the wall does the ladder reach? Round to the nearest hundredth.

Answer 1

16.25 feet

Explanation:

the ladder and the wall form a right angle triangle with sides a, b, and c. Remember that side c is the hypoteneuse, which is formed by the ladder in this case. the choice of which side is a and b is arbitrary. Solve for the missing side using pythagorean theorem.

`c^2=a^2+b^2\\b^2=c^2-a^2\\b^2=17^(2)-5^(2)\\b^2=264\\b=√(264)\\b=16.25`

where side b is the height on the wall which the ladder reaches.

Answer 2

The correct answer is 23