Question

As shown in the diagram below, a ladder 5 feet long leans against a wall and makes an angle of 65° with the ground. Find, to the nearest tenth of a foot, the distance from the wall to the base of the ladder.

Answer 1

The diagram representing the scenario is a right angle triangle is shown below.

Taking 65 degrees as the reference angle,

BC = length of the ladder = hypotenuse

AB = the distance from the wall to the base of the ladder = adjacent side

To find AC, we would apply the Cosine trigonometric ratio which is expressed as

Cos# = adjacent side/hypotenuse

Thus,

Cos 65 = AB/5

AB = 5Cos65

AB = 2.1

Therefore, the distance from the wall to the base of the ladder is 2.1 feet