Question

If you place a 17-foot ladder against the top of a 8-foot building, how many feet will the bottom of the ladder be from the bottom of the building?

Answer 1

Answer:

15 feet

Step-by-step explanation:

This problem involves using the Pythagorean theorem, since the figure made with the ladder, building, and ground would make a right triangle. You are given the values 17ft and 8ft, which is enough to plug into the Pythagorean theorem.

The ladder, 17ft, would be the longest side (hypotenuse). The 8ft building would be one of the legs of the right triangle.

1. Plug your given values correctly into the Pythagorean Theorem.

$a^{2} + b^{2} = c^{2}$

$8^{2} + b^{2} = 17^{2}$

2. Now solve for b, which is your unknown distance (the distance the bottom of the ladder is from the bottom of the building).

$8^{2} + b^{2} = 17^{2}$ --> Square 8 and 17

$64 + b^{2} = 289$ --> Subtract 64 from both sides

$b^{2} = 225$ --> Square root both sides to get b by itself

b = 15

3. The distance is 15 feet

*Note: to make solving this problem easier, try drawing out the given situation, namely the building and the ladder