Question

A 15-foot ladder leans against the side of a house with its base 4 feet from the house. Use the Pythagorean Theorem to approximate how high the ladder reaches up the side of the house. Round your answer to the nearest hundredth.

Answer 1

Answer: The ladder reaches 14.46 feet up of the building.

Explanation:

According to Pythagorean theorem,

In a right triangle,

(Hypotenuse)²= (Base)²+(perpendicular)^2

Using given information, we have

`(15)^2=(4)^2+(height)^2\\\\225=16+(height)^2\\\\(height)^2=209\\\\ (height)^2=√(209)\approx14.46\ feet`

Hence, the ladder reaches 14.46 feet up of the building.