A fence 8 feet tall runs parallel to a tall building at a distance of 6 feet from the building.

Question

 A fence 8 feet tall runs parallel to a tall building at a distance of 6 feet from the building.

What is the length of the shortest ladder that will reach from the ground over the fence to the wall of the building?

Answer 1

Just a quick guess, but odds are good the minimum length is when the ladder is at 45 degrees to the ground

which creates a right triangle, with sides 12 and 12, and hypotenuse (the ladder length) 12sqr2 = a little over 16 feet. 16.8 feet.