Question

a ladder leans against the side of the house. the top of the ladder is 16ft from the ground. the bottom of the ladder is 12ft from the side of the house. find the length of the ladder.

Answer 1

Since the situation forms a right triangle, We have to apply the pythagorean theorem:

c^2= a^2+b^2

Where c is the hypotenuse (longest side, ?) and 16 and 11 are the other two legs ( a and b)

Replacing:

c^2 = 16^2+12^2

c^2= 400

c= √400

c= 20

The length of the ladder is 20 ft.