Question

A 14-foot ladder is leaning against a building as shown. It touches a point 11 feet up on a building. How far away from the base of the building does the ladder stand?

Answer 1

We can assume that the point the ladder creates with the ground and building is a triangle. You can use the Pythagorean theorem to solve this.

A^2 + B^2 = C^2

The ladder is C, and the building can act as A or B, so for the purpose of this explanation, I’ll make it A.

11^2 + B^2 = 14^2
Figure out the squares

121 + B^2 = 196
Subtract 121 from both sides

B^2 = 75
Square root B^2 and 75

B = 5 root3