Question

A 13-foot ladder leans against the side of a house with its base 3 feet from the house. Use the Pythagorean Theorem to approximate how high the ladder reaches up the side of the house. Round your answer to the nearest hundredth.

Answer 1

Answer: 12.65 ft

Pythagorean theorem is $a^{2}$ + $b^{2}$ = $c^{2}$

So, $a^{2}$ + $3^{2}$ = $13^{2}$

169 - 9 = 160

$\sqrt{160}$ is 12.65.

Hope it helps.