Answer:
The ladder rests against the wall at 6ft.
The ladder in Figure 2 rests about 3ft higher than the ladder in Figure 1.
Explanation:
We can assume both of the figures display the ladder, ground, and wall forming a right triangle because the assignment is titled "apply the Pythagorean theorem", suggesting we should use the Pythagorean theorem and both figures are right triangles.
The Pythagorean theorem states that the sum of each leg squared is equal to the hypotenuse squared, or a^2 + b^2 = c^2, where "a" and "b" are legs and "c" is the hypotenuse.
At what height does the ladder in Figure 1 rest on the wall?
First, identify which sides are the legs and which is the hypotenuse. The hypotenuse is always the longest side and is the side opposite from the right angle. Thus, the hypotenuse in Figure 1 is the ladder length, and the two legs are the distance the ladder is from the wall and the height of the ladder against the wall. In other words, c = 10, a = 8, and b = the missing side length. Now, plug in the values to the Pythagorean theorem:
8^2 + b^2 = 10^2
64 + b^2 = 100
b^2 = 36
b = 6
The height at which the ladder in Figure 1 rests on the wall is 6 ft.
Approximately how much higher up the wall does the ladder in Figure 2 rest compared to the ladder in Figure 1?
We can set up the equation: Figure 2 ladder height - Figure 1 ladder height. We already know how where the ladder height of Figure 1 is, so we only need to solve for the ladder height in Figure 2 to get the result. Applying the same method as in the previous problem, we can input the values of Figure 2 into the Pythagorean theorem:
4^2 + b^2 = 10^2
16 + b^2 = 100
b^2 = 84
b = sqrt84
b ~ 9 ft
Now, we can find the difference between the Figure 2 ladder height and Figure 1 ladder height to get the answer to the question:
9 ft - 6 ft = 3 ft