A ladder leans against a building. The foot of the ladder is 2 feet from the building and reaches to a point 7 feet high on the building.

Question

A ladder leans against a building. The foot of the ladder is 2 feet from the building and reaches to a point 7 feet high on the building. What is the measure of the angle formed by the ladder and the building? Enter your answer, rounded to the nearest degree, in the box.

Answer 1

draw a diagram

the ladder, the building, and the distance from the foot of the ladder to the building form a right triangle

the height of the building is 7 feet, the distance from the foot of the ladder to the building is 2 feet

these are the legs and the ladder is the hypotenuse

you want the top left acute angle

use the tangent function

tan=opposite/adjacent

call the angle "x"

tanx=2/7

tanx=0.285714

use the arctan finder on your calculator

tangent is 0.285714 at 15.94538077º=16º rounded

Answer 2

Draw and label a diagram!

tan θ = 7/2

 

Use a table or a calculate to determine the value of θ.