Question

A ladder, 30 m long, rests against a wall of a school building. The tip of the ladder reaches a height of 24 m on the wall. How far is the bottom of the ladder from the foot of the building?

Answer 1

The distance between the bottom of the ladder and the foot of the building is 18 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the distance between the bottom of the ladder and the foot of the building, we can use the Pythagorean theorem. The ladder forms a right triangle with the wall and the ground. The length of the ladder is the hypotenuse, the height of the wall is one side of the triangle, and the distance between the bottom of the ladder and the foot of the building is the other side of the triangle.

Using the Pythagorean theorem, we have:

a² + b² = c²

Where a and b are the two sides of the triangle and c is the hypotenuse.

In this case, we have:

a = 24 m (height of the wall)

c = 30 m (length of the ladder)

Let's solve for b:

b² = c² - a²

b² = (30 m)2 - (24 m)2

b² = 900 m2 - 576 m2

b² = 324 m2

b = sqrt(324 m2)

b = 18 m

Therefore, the distance between the bottom of the ladder and the foot of the building is 18 meters.