Question

A 16 foot ladder is leaned up against a building. If the ladder is 9 feet away from the building (at the ground) then how high up is the ladder resting against the building?

Answer 1

The answer to your question is 13.2 ft

Explanation:

Data

length of the ladder = hypotenuse = 16 ft

adjacent side = 9 ft

opposite side = ?

Process

1.- To solve this problem use the Pythagorean theorem

c² = a² + b²

Solve for b²

b² = c² - a²

2.- Substitution

b² = 16² - 9²

3.- Simplification

b² = 256 - 81

b² = 175

b = 13.2 ft

4.- Conclusion

The ladder is 13.2 ft resting against the building.