Question

A 29 -foot ladder is leaning against a building. The base of the ladder is 20 feet from the side of the building. How high does the ladder reach along the side of the building?

Answer 1

Answer: The ladder reaches 21.76 feet along the side of the building.

Explanation:

We can use the Pythagorean theorem to solve this problem. Let h be the height that the ladder reaches along the side of the building. Then, we have:

h^2 + 20^2 = 29^2

Simplifying this equation gives us:

h^2 + 400 = 841

Subtracting 400 from both sides, we get:

h^2 = 441

Taking the square root of both sides, we get:

h = √441

h = 21

However, we need to remember that the ladder reaches a point 20 feet away from the building, so we need to subtract the 20 feet from our answer:

h - 20 = 1

h = 21 + 20

h = 41

So, the ladder reaches 21 feet along the side of the building.