Question

If a 30-foot ladder leaning against a building makes a 62° with the ground. How many feet from the base of the building is the bottom of the ladder? Assume you hired an excellent contractor, and your building's wall is perpendicular to the ground. Round to the nearest tenth of a foot.

Answer 1

Answer: 14.1 feet

Step-by-step explanation:

Hi, since the situation forms a right triangle (see attachment) we have to apply the trigonometric functions.

cos α = adjacent side / hypotenuse

Where α is the angle of elevation of the ladder to the ground, the hypotenuse is the longest side of the triangle (in this case is the length of the ladder), and the adjacent side (x) is the distance from the base of the building to the bottom of the ladder

Replacing with the values given:  

cos 62 = x/ 30

Solving for x

cos62 (30) =x

x= 14.1 feet

Feel free to ask for more if needed or if you did not understand something.