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How far from the base of the house do you need to place an 18’ ladder so that it exactly reaches the top of a 14’ wall?

User Wayne B
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1 Answer

5 votes

Answer:

Length of Ladder(Hypotenuse)=18

Height of wall(Opposite) =14

How far from the base... This talks about the adjacent or distance between the wall and the base.

You can get your answer from Pythagoras theorem

Which states

The square of the hypotenuse is = to the squares of the adjacent and Opposite sides

H² = O² + A²

We're looking for the adjacent "A"

Making A the subject

A² = H² - O²

A= √H² - O²

A= √18² - 14²

A=√128

A= 8√2'

User Tim Boddy
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