Question

A building is 2 ft from a 7 - ft fence that surrounds the property . A worker wants to wash a window in the building 11 ft from the ground . He plans to place a ladder over the fence so it rests against the building . (See the figure .) He decides he should place the ladder 7 ft from the fence for stability . To the nearest tenth of a foot , how long a ladder will he need ?

Answer 1

Answer:

The height of the ladder is 14.491 feet

Explanation:

Given the height is 11 feet

Base = 7 + 2 = 9 feet

Consider the ladder to be the hypotenuse

Applying Pythagoras Theorem,  

$H^2 = P^2 + B^2$

Substituting the values in the above formula,

$H^2$  = 112 + 92

$H^2$  = 121 + 81

$H^2$ = 210

H = sqrt(210)

H = 14.491

Therefore, the height of the ladder is 14.491 feet