You are trapped 18ft up in a burning building a fireman comes w.a 22ft ladder and places it 20 ft away from the base of the building will the ladder reach you

Question

you are trapped 18ft up in a burning building. a fireman comes with a 22ft ladder and places it 20 ft away from the base of the building . will the ladder reach you ?

Answer 1

Pythagorean theorem states that the square of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

 

So your ladder will be  hypotenuse  here.  (22)^2 = (18)^2 + (20)^2

 

so if    324+400 = (22)^2  -->  

 

Now I assume you will figure it out whether the ladder reach reach you or not.

Answer 2

18²+20²=x²

324+400=x²

724=x²

x=26.9 feet is the length that the ladder should be to reach you, so the answer is no