Question

A 41 41-foot ladder is leaning against a building. The base of the ladder is 9 9 feet from the side of the building. How high does the ladder reach along the side of the building?

Answer 1

Answer:

The ladder would reach 40ft

Step-by-step explanation:

The ladder forms a right angle triangle with the building and the ground. The length of the ladder represents the hypotenuse of the right angle triangle. The height that the ladder would reach along the side of the building represents the opposite side of the right angle triangle.

The distance from the bottom of the ladder to the base of the building represents the adjacent side of the right angle triangle.

To determine the height that the ladder would reach along the side of the building h, we would apply Pythagoras theorem which is expressed as

Hypotenuse² = opposite side² + adjacent side²

41² = 9² + h²

1681 = 81 + h²

h² = 1681 - 81 = 1600

h = √1600

h = 40 ft