Question

A painter needs to measure the height from the ground to the base of a 2nd story window. He props his ladder against the base of the window. He finds the height from one rung of the ladder to the point on the ground below it, and the distance from that point to the base of the ladder. This is shown in the figure.

If XY = 8 inches, WY = 24 inches, and XZ = 48 inches, the height from the ground to the base of the window is how many inches?

Answer 1

The first time you have a chance at the top is

Answer 2

Based on the given values and using the proportion XY/XZ = WY/total height, the height from the ground to the base of the window is 144 inches.