Question

The top of a ladder is leaning on a building at a point 12 feet above the ground; the bottom of the ladder is 5 feet from the base of the building. What’s the length of the ladder?

Answer 1

Answer: the length of the ladder is 13 feet.

Explanation:

The ladder forms a right angle triangle with the building and the ground. The length of the ladder represents the hypotenuse of the right angle triangle. The height from the top of the ladder to the base of the building represents the opposite side of the right angle triangle.

The distance from the bottom of the ladder to the base of the building represents the adjacent side of the right angle triangle.

To determine the length of the ladder h, we would apply Pythagoras theorem which is expressed as

Hypotenuse² = opposite side² + adjacent side²

h² = 12² + 5² = 144 + 25

h² = 169

h = √169 = 13 feet