Math Question

Question

A 37-foot ladder is leaning against a building. The base of the ladder is 12 feet from the side of the building. How high does the ladder reach along the side of the building?

Answer 1

Draw a right triangle using the ladder as the hypotenuse (c), the distance on the ground as the base (a), and the height on the wall as the height (b).

 

You know the length of one side and the hypotenuse.

 

since...

a²+b²=c²

when...

a=one side

b=another side and

c=hypotenuse

 

12²+b²= 37²

 

solve for b