A window washer has a 15-foot extension ladder. how far away from the building should the foot of the ladder be placed to reach 12 feet up the building?

Question

Chloe Pratt

Mathematics

8 May, 08:57

A window washer has a 15-foot extension ladder. how far away from the building should the foot of the ladder be placed to reach 12 feet up the building?

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Answers (1)

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Kara Warren · Answer 1

This is the concept of application of geometry; the distance that the ladder should be placed will be given by Pythagorean theorem.

thus;

c^2=a^2+b^2

where, c=hypotenuse, a and b are the legs

hence;

15^2+12^2+b^2

b^2=15^2-12^2

b^2=225-144

b^2=81

getting the square root of both sides;

b=sqrt81

b=9

therefore the ladder should be placed 9 feet from the wall for it to reach 12 feet up the building