Question

A 20 meter ladder rests vertically against the side of a barn. A pig that has been hitched to the ladder starts to pull the base of the ladder away from the wall at a constant rate of 0.4 meters per second. Find the rate of change of the height of the top of the ladder after 30 seconds.

Answer 1

Answer:

I hope my drawing explains well lol... h = 16

Step-by-step explanation:

So basically first you need to find x (the one in the drawing), by doing so, you just have to use the formula,

$speed = \frac{distance}{time}$

You substitute in the speed and the time given,

$0.4 = \frac{x}{30} \\ x = 12$

Then, you use the Pythagorean theorem,

$h = \sqrt{ {20}^{2} - {12}^{2} } \\ h = 16$