The denominator is the bottom portion of the fraction. Example 4/6, the 6 is the denominator. The easiest way to start out in finding the common denominator is to see what number, 8 and 14, go into equally. Example: 1/4 and 1/3, 3 and 4 both go into 12. If you multiply 4 by 3 as well as 3 by 4 you get 12 both times. Now try it with 8 and 14.
This is a SOH-CAH-TOA problem, or trigonometry! Take a look at the attached image for a sketch of this problem.
(a) To find the distance up the wall, we'll need to use the sine function. This is because we know the angle is opposite the wall and we also know the hypotenuse.
sin(58.5) = x/4
x = (4)(sin(58.5)) ---> Plug this into your calculator to get the answer! And make sure your calculator is in degrees if that is an option.
x = 3.4 meters
(b) To find the distance between the foot of the ladder and the wall, we'll need to use the cosine function. This is because we know the angle is adjacent to the wall and we also know the hypotenuse.
considering that a parabola can grow or decrease from its vertex we can note that in the case of a parabola with the branches down the vertex will always be a maximum, and in the case of a parabola with the branches up it will always be a minimum.