What is the answer?

Question

A 12-Foot ladder is leaning against a wall. The bottom of the ladder is 3 feet from the base of the wall. What is the approximate distance from the base of the wall?

 

Answer 1

I think you copied the problem incorrectly. It says that the bottom of the ladder is 3 feet from the base of the wall, so the answer is 3 feet.

 

If you meant, how far is the top of the ladder from the base of the wall, that would make more sense.  Here is how to solve:

 

A ladder leaning against a wall makes a right triangle with the ladder acting as the hypotenuse since it is safe to assume that the wall and ground meet at right angles.  Therefore the distance to the base of the wall acts as a leg.

 

Since a² + b² = c²,

 

3² + b² = 12²

9 + b² = 144

b² = 135

b = 11.6 feet