Question

Jaquira wants to set a ladder against the house to change a light above the garage. The ladder is 18 feet long. If the ladder needs to reach the light, which is 15 feet above the ground, how far away should Jaquira place the base of the ladder from the house? Round to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

≈ 9.9 feet

Explanation:

We can use the Pythagorean theorem to solve this problem. Let x be the distance from the house to the base of the ladder. Then:

x^2 + 15^2 = 18^2

Simplifying and solving for x, we get:

x = sqrt(18^2 - 15^2) = 9.9 feet (rounded to the nearest tenth)

Therefore, Jaquira should place the base of the ladder approximately 9.9 feet away from the house.