Question

the bottom of a ladder must be placed 3 feet from a wall. the ladder is 12 feet long. how far above the ground does the ladder touch the wall

Answer 1

You would use the Pythagorean theorem. Lets say that how far above the ground the ladder touches the wall is x.


x^2 = 12^2 - 3^2
x^2 = 144-9
x^2= 135
x=sqrt(135)
x=about 11.6