MATH QUESTION!! PLEASE HELP :)

Question

Thor placed a 15 ft. long ladder against a vertical wall 18 ft. high. If he pulls the bottom of the ladder out 9 feet from the wall, how far down the wall would the top of the ladder move?



Answer 1

Draw the problem, Reva!

15 feet is your hypotenuse, 9 feet is your other side

Using the pythagorean theorem:

15^2 = 9^2 + b^2

b^2 = 15^2 - 9^2 = 225 - 81 = 144

b = 12

So, when he pulls the ladder to 9 feet from the wall, the ladder is touching the wall at 12 feet.

The question should have stated that the ladder originally was touching the wall at 18 feet. (It just mentions the wall is 18 feet high, but that is the presumption for this math problem). So, how far down the wall would the top of the ladder move?

The difference between where it was touching (18 feet) and where it now touches (12 feet): 6ft