Question

A staircase of 30 meters in length is supported on the wall. The foot of the ladder is 18 meters from the wall. How high does the ladder reach above the wall?

A. 24 meters
B. 26 meters
C. 28 meters
D. 30 meters

Answer 1

The ladder reaches 24 meters above the wall.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the height the ladder reaches above the wall, we can use the Pythagorean theorem, which states that in a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. In this case, the hypotenuse represents the ladder, and the other two sides represent the distance from the foot of the ladder to the wall and the height the ladder reaches above the wall.

Let's put the values into the formula:

h^2 = 30^2 - 18^2

Simplifying the equation:

h^2 = 900 - 324

h^2 = 576

Taking the square root of both sides:

h = √576

h = 24 meters

Therefore, the ladder reaches 24 meters above the wall.