Question

Two window washers, Simon and 'Leroy, lean a ladder against the side of a building so that

Simon can wash a window while Leroy holds the ladder. The top of the ladder reaches the
window, which is 16 feet off the ground. The base of the ladder is 12 feet away from the
building. How long is the ladder?
feet

Answer 1

The length of the ladder is 20 feet.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the length of the ladder, we can use the Pythagorean theorem. The ladder, the building, and the ground form a right triangle. The ladder is the hypotenuse, the height of the window is the opposite side, and the distance from the base of the ladder to the building is the adjacent side.

Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can write:

hypotenuse^2 = opposite^2 + adjacent^2

ladder^2 = 16^2 + 12^2

ladder^2 = 256 + 144

ladder^2 = 400

Taking the square root of both sides:

ladder = 20 feet