Question

Christopher is hanging Christmas lights along the perimeter of his house by using his 15 foot ladder. The base of the ladder is placed 4 feet away from the base of his house. How far up the house does his ladder reach?

Answer 1

Answer:

14.45 feet

Step-by-step explanation:

The set up is a right angled triangle;

The length of the ladder = hypotenuse = 15foot

The base of the ladder is the adjacent = 4feet

The height of th house is the opposite = x

Using the pythagoras theorem;

hyp² = opp² + adj²

15² = opp²+4²

opp² = 15²- 4²

opp² = 225 - 16

opp² = 209

opp = 14.45feet

Hence the ladder reaches 14.45 feet up the house