Question

If a 30 foot ladder is positioned so that the bottom of the ladder is 1/4 of its length away from the wall, how far up the wall will it reach ? Round to the nearest foot.

Answer 1

Answer:

29.05 ft

Step-by-step explanation:

Using the concept of pythagoras theorem, here we have the base and hypotenuse given hence we need to find the third dimension, assuming the wall is perfectly straight and forms a right angle with the bsse of the ladder. Here, $c^{2}=a^{2}+b^{2}$ and making a the subject of the formula then $a=\sqrt {c^{2}-b^{2}}$ and substituting 30 ft for c and 0.25*30=7.5 ft for b then $a=\sqrt {30^{2}-7.5^{2}}=\sqrt {843.75}=29.047375096555626\approx 29.05 ft$