Answer: The base of the ladder to the base of the wall is 4.4 ft
Step-by-step explanation: Please refer to the attached diagram.
If the ladder which measures ten feet is placed against the wall, it's going to tilt at a diagonal. This means the foot of the ladder would lie some distance away from the foot of the wall.
The wall is at a perpendicular with the ground. This also means that we have a right angled triangle. Two sides are known, according to the diagram. One is the hypotenuse (the side which is facing the right angle) which is ten feet, and the other is one of the remaining two sides which is nine feet.
To measure the distance from the foot of the ladder to the base of the wall, we apply the Pythagoras theorem which states that
AC² = AB² + BC²
Where AC is the hypotenuse and AB and BC are the other two sides
Therefore
10² = 9² + X²
100 = 81 + X²
Subtract 81 from both sides of the equation
19 = X²
Add the square root sign to both sides of the equation
√19 = X
X = 4.3589
Approximately, X = 4.4 ft