Question

The top of a ladder is leaning against a vertical wall, 12 feet above the floor. The bottom of the ladder is resting on the floor, 9 feet from the base of the wall. How long is the ladder?

Answer 1

Explanation:

This is a RIGHT triangle with the LEGS of the triangle being 12 ft and 9 ft...

the ladder is the hypotenuse.

Use Pythagorean Theorem for right triangles

hypotenuse^2 = 12 ^2 + 9^2

ladder^2 = 144 + 81

ladder = sqrt ( 225)

ladder = 15 ft