A ladder of length "x + 10" is positioned "x" feet from a wall. If the ladder reaches a height of "x + 8" up the wall, find the length of the ladder. Length of Ladder ROUNDED TO NEAREST TENTH:

Question

please help me eeeeeeeeeee

Answer 1

use the Pythagorean theorem to find x, where x+10 is the hypotenuse and x and x+8 are the legs:

(x)^2 + (x+8)^2 = (x+10)^2

x^2 + x^2 + 16x + 64 = x^2 + 20x + 100

x^2 -4x - 36 = 0

cannot factor, so use Quadratic Formula to find x, then add 10 to get the length of the ladder.

x = -b +/- sqrt(b^2-4ac)

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2a

where a = 1, b = -4 and c = -36

use positive solution for x as the answer

Answer 2

a=x

b=x+8

c=x+10

a^2+b^2=c^2

x^2+(x+8)^2=(x+10)^2

x^2+x^2+16x+64=x^2+20x+100

x^2 +16x+64= 20x+100

x^2 = 4x+36

x=8.325

c=18.325............ = 20x+100