The bottom of a ladder is placed 4 feet from the side of a building. the top of the ladder must be 13 feet off the ground. what is the shortest ladder that will do the job?

The ladder, the ground, and the wall form a right triangle.

The ground and the wall form a right angle, and the ladder is the hypotenuse.

The legs of the triangle are 4-ft and 13-ft.

The hypotenuse is

√ (4² + 13²)

= √ (16 + 169)

= √185

= 13.6 feet