Question

The bottom of a ladder must be
placed 5 feet from a building. The
ladder is 14 feet long. How far
above the ground does the ladder
touch the wall?

Answer 1

Answer:

Refer to the attachment for the diagram.

According to the question a ladder is inclined to a wall at some angle in such a way that, the base of the ladder is 5 m from the wall and the length of ladder is 14 m.

From the diagram, we can see a right angled triangle being formed. Hence by using the Pythagorean Theorem we can calculate the length from ground to the point where the ladder is touching the wall.

Opposite Side = 'x' to be calculated

Adjacent Side = 5 m

Hypotenuse = 14 m

Applying Pythagorean theorem we get:

⇒ x² + 5² = 14²

⇒ x² + 25 = 196

⇒ x² = 196 - 25

⇒ x² = 171

⇒ x = √171 units

Hence the tip of the ladder is √171 units above from the ground.