How far from the base of the house do you need to place a 15 foot ladder so that it exactly reaches the top of a 12 foot wall?

9 ft

Step-by-step explanation:

The ladder is 15 foot

The height the ladder reaches from the bottom of the wall is 12 ft

The distance (x) from the bottom of the wall to the foot of the ladder is:

Applying the Pythagorean theorem;

x = = 9 ft

A 15 foot ladder needs to be placed at a distance of 9 foot from the base of the house so that it exactly reaches the top of a 12 foot wall.

In this case;

Therefore;

We are going to find the distance of the ladder from the base of the house on the ground which is the other leg.

Using Pythagoras theorem;

Taking the horizontal distance of the ladder from the wall as b

Then;

therefore,

Hence; the ladder needs to be placed at a distance of 9 foot from the base of the house.

Keywords: Right triangle, Pythagoras rule

Level; High school

Subject: Mathematics

Topic: Pythagoras theorem

do it yourself this is easy

step-by-step explanation: