precal question

Question

A 22-ft ladder leans against a building so that the angle between the ground and the ladder is 73°. How high does the ladder reach on the building? (Round your answer to the nearest foot.)

Answer 1

Hi Viviana C

Draw a diagram of the right triangle you form with the ladder, wall of the building, and distance of the base of the ladder on the ground to the building

You should have a right triangle

You should then apply the Trigonometric relationships associated with a Right Triangle to the information given

The 22 ft slant of the ladder to the building is your hypotenuse

sin(73)(22) = h

Also since you have a right triangle you know that 90 - 73 is the measure of third angle in your triangle or 17.

You can use this information to calculate the length of the base of your triangle

You can use the Pythagorean Theorem to see if the square root of the result is equal to 22

Give it a try