Question

Safety by-laws state that for a ladder to be stable, the angle the base of the ladder makes with the ground should be between 70° and 80'. A safety inspector at a construction site notices a painter on a 10-m ladder that is leaning against a wall. The base of the ladder is 1.5 m away from the wall. Does the inspector have cause to be concerned? Explain.​

Answer 1

Cos(angle) = adjacent/hypotenuse

Cos(angle) = 1.5/10

Angle = arccos(1.5/10)

Angle = 81.37 degrees

Although the angle is close, it is over the 80 degrees, so the inspector should be concerned.