Question

A painter needs to measure the height from the ground to the base of a 2nd story window. He props his ladder against the base of the window. He finds the height from one rung of the ladder to the point on the ground below it, and the distance from that point to the base of the ladder. This is shown in the figure.
If XY = 8 inches, WY = 24 inches, and XZ = 48 inches, the height from the ground to the base of the window is inches.

Answer 1

The height from the ground to the base of the window is 16 inches.

What is the height from the ground to the base of the window is inches?

The ladder and the wall of the window form a right angled triangle. A right angled triangle is a three-sided polygon. The square of the longest side of a right angled triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

In order to determine the length from the ground to the window, the law of similar triangles would be used. The similar triangles are triangle WXY and triangle VXZ. It is expected that the length of the sides are proportional to each other.

XY / XZ = WY / VZ

(8 / 24) = WY / 48

WY = (8 X 48) / 24 = 16 inches

To learn more about similar triangles, please check: brainly.com/question/10658464

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