Question

A painter places an 8.5 ft ladder against a wall. the bottom of the ladder is 4 ft from the base of the wall. how high up the wall does the ladder reach?

Answer 1

Use the Pythagorean Theorem:
a² + b² = c²
4² + b² = 8.5²
16 + b² = 72.25
        b² = 56.25
        b = 7.5

 The ladder reaches a height of 7.5 ft on the wall