Question

A painter has a 24 foot ladder that he is using to paint a house. For safety reasons, the ladder must be placed at least 8ft from the base of the side of the house. To the nearest tenth of a foot, how high can the ladder safely reach?

Answer 1

23 feet of the ladder

Answer 2

It's Pythagorean Theorem, 8^2 + b^2 = 24^2

576 - 64 = b^2
$\sqrt{512} = { b}$
22.6 = b
rounded to nearest tenth of a foot.