Question

a 25m long ladder is placed against a vertical wall such that the foot of the ladder is 7m from the feet of the wall. if the top of the ladder slides down by 4m, by how much distance will the foot of the ladder slides​

Answer 1

By the Pythagorean Theorem, if h is the original height of the ladder, then:

h^2 + 7^2 = 25^2 ==> h = 24 feet.

After the top slips down 4 feet, the wall is now 24 - 4 = 20 feet up the ladder. Using the Pythagorean Theorem, the ladder is now at a distance of:

d^2 + 20^2 = 25^2 ==> d = 15 feet from the wall.

Therefore, the ladder slides out a distance of 15 - 7 = 8 feet.

I hope this helps!