Question

A 40 feet long ladder is leaning against a vertical wall of a building. The base of the ladder is being pulled away from the wall at a rate of 2 feet per second. Determine the rate of change of the angle* (in radians) formed by the top of the ladder and the wall when the base of the ladder is 24 feet away from the wall.

Answer 1

When the base of the ladder is 24 feet away from the wall, the rate of change of the angle θ (in radians) is 1/8 radians per second.