A 5ft ladder is leaning against a 4 ft wall. how far must the bottom of the ladder be from the wall so that the top of the ladder rests on the top of the wall?

Question

Mathematics

Parks

4 December, 07:19

A 5ft ladder is leaning against a 4 ft wall. how far must the bottom of the ladder be from the wall so that the top of the ladder rests on the top of the wall?

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Answers (1)

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Cael Dennis · Answer 1

The ladder leaning against the wall forms a right angled triangle with the gound and the wall. So we can use the formula:

a² + b² = c²

The ladder is the hypotenuse c²

The vertical leg is b²

The base or horizontal leg is a²

We need to find the length of the base a², so:

a² = c² - b²

a² = 5² - 4²

a² = 25 - 16

a² = 9

a = √9

a = 3

Therefore the bottom of the ladder must be 3 feet from the wall.