Question

Mr. Norman is leaning a ladder against the side of his house to repair the roof. The top of the ladder reaches the roof, which is 15 feet high. The base of the ladder is 8 feet away from the house, where Mr. Norman's son is holding it steady. How long is the ladder?

feet

Answer 1

The ladder is 17 feet long

Explanation:

Let

a ----> the height of the root in feet

b ----> the horizontal distance of the base of the ladder from the house in feet

we have

`a=15\ ft\\b=8\ ft`

To find out the how long is the ladder apply the Pythagorean Theorem

Let

c ---> the length of the ladder

`c^2=a^2+b^2`

where

c is the greater side (hypotenuse)

a and b are the legs

substitute the given values

`c^2=15^2+8^2`

`c^2=289\\c=17\ ft`

therefore

The ladder is 17 feet long