Question

A 12 ft ladder leans against the side of a house. The top of the ladder is 10ft off the ground. Find x, the angle of elevation of the ladder.

1. Remember to address each of the critical elements of the prompt:
Articulate your overall approach to solving this problem before tackling the details. In other words, think about what the question is actually asking, which pieces of information are relevant, and how you can use what you have learned to fill in the missing pieces.
2. Apply the mathematical process to solve the problem:
Interpret the word problem to identify any missing information.
Translate the word problem into an equation.
Appropriately use the order of operations and law of sines and cosines to determine the solution.
Check your work by ensuring that the known properties of triangles are met.

Answer 1

The image is missing, so i have attached it.

Answer:

x = 56.44°

Explanation:

From the attached image, we can see that this is a right angle triangle which has opposite, adjacent and hypotenuse as sides. Since we want to find the angle x, thus, we can make use of trigonometric ratios.

From the attached image, the side opposite to angle x is 10ft and the hypotenuse is 12 ft.

From trigonometric ratios, we know that, sin x = opposite/hypotenuse

So, sin x = 10/12

x = sin^(-1) (10/12)

x = sin^(-1) 0.8333

x = 56.44°