Question

A ladder is 8 m long. It leans against a wall with one end on the ground 6 m from the wall.

How far up the wall does the ladder reach? Draw a diagram and show your work. Round your
answer to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

5.3 m

Explanation:

Given these values, we can draw a picture of the situation and it will form a right triangle: the hypotenuse is the ladder and the distance from the end of the ladder to the wall is the long leg.

Now, we need to find the short leg using the pythagorean theorem:

a² + b² = c²

6² + b² = 8²

36 + b² = 64

b² = 28

b = 5.3