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5 votes
Two window washers, Grayson and Malik, lean a ladder against the side of a building so that Grayson can wash a window while Malik holds the ladder. The top of the ladder reaches the window, which is 8 meters off the ground. The base of the ladder is 3 meters away from the building. How long is the ladder?

User Stesch
by
5.4k points

2 Answers

1 vote

Answer:

≈8.544

Explanation:

The Pythagorean theorem says that
a^(2) + b^(2) = c^(2), where c is the ladder. Replacing the variables for numbers gives you
3^2 + 8^2 = c^2. Simplifying the right side gives you 9+64, or 73. Because
c^2\\=73, the answer is
√(73), or ≈8.544. Hope this helps!

User Kim Tang
by
4.4k points
1 vote

Answer:

8.5m

Explanation:

The ladder forms a right triangle with legs of 8 and 3, and the ladder is the hypotenuse. Using the Pythagorean Theorem, we get that the ladder is about 8.5 meters long. Hope this helps!

User Jason Nam
by
5.7k points
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