Question

The bottom of the ladder rests on a horizontal flat surface and the top of the ladder rests against a wall. The ladder makes an angle of elevation of 61°. The bottom of the ladder is 6 ft from the base of the wall. How long is the ladder? Round your answer to the nearest foot. Do not include units.

Answer 1

The diagram of the ladder leaning on a wall is shown below

We will use the trigonometry ratio for cosine to solve for 'x'

We choose the cosine ratio because we have the angle, 61° and the side adjacent to the angle

$cos(x)= \frac{adjacent}{hypothenuse}$
$cos(61)= \frac{61}{x}$
$x= \frac{6}{cos(61)} =12.38$, rounded to 2 dp