Question

A 9 foot ladder is placed against a building. If the base of the ladder is 7 feet away from the building,

how far up the building will the ladder reach? Round the answer to the nearest tenth.
X =

Answer 1

X=5.7

Use Pythagorean Theorem a^2+b^2=c^2
The longest side being c because it’s thy hypotenuse and the other length being any one of the legs (either a or b).

7^2+b^2=9^2 —> 49+b^2=81 —>
b^2=81-49 =32 Sqrt of 32 = b = 5.7