Question

5. Bob uses a 20-foot ladder to paint a section of his hours

that is 16 feet high. Select all the equations that can be
used to solve for 0.​

Answer 1

Explanation:

The 20-ft ladder is the hypotenuse here; the longer leg has length 16 ft, and the shorter leg can be represented by b (base).

Then, applying the Pythagorean Theorem,

20^2 = 16^2 + b^2, or

400 = 256 + b^2, or

144 = b^2.

Taking the square root of both sides, we get b = 12 ft.

The ratio of the base to the hypotenuse is the cosine of the triangle formed here. Thus,

cos Ф = adj / hyp = 12 ft / 20 ft = 0.6

The angle that the ladder makes with the horizontal base is then

Ф = arccos 0.6, or 0.927 radian, or 53.1 degrees.