Question

A 50 foot ladder is set against the side of a house so that it reaches up 48 feet. If Mila grabs the ladder at its base and pulls it 6 feet farther from the house, how far up the side of the house will the ladder reach now? (The answer is not 42 ft.) Round to the nearest tenth of a foot.

Answer 1

Answer: ~31.3

first use the pythagorean theorem. a^2+(40)^2=50^2.

simply. a+1600=2500. subtract 1600 from both sides. a^2=900.

square root both sides to get a= 30

then find how far the top of the ladder is from the ground once in its new position.

a^2+(39)^2=50^2.

simplify. a^2+1512=2500. subtract 1512 from both sides to get a^2=979.

square root both sides to get a=31.288975. round to the nearest tenth to get a=31.3