Question

Gerry plans to place a 29 foot ladder against the side of his house to clean his gutters. The bottom of the ladder will be 3 feet from the house. How far up the side of the house will the ladder reach (in ft)?

Answer 1

8
`√(13)`

Explanation:

Using the pythagorean theorem (Assuming the house's walls are perpindicular to the ground):

a^2+b^2=c^2

we can find that 3=a and 29=c

3^2+b^2=29^2

9+b^2=841

b^2=832

b=
`√(832)`

b=
`√(64*13)`

b=8
`√(13)`

That is the height that the ladder will reach