Question

Suppose a 50-foot ladder is leaning against a wall. If

the base is 14 feet from the wall, how far up the
wall does the ladder reach?

Answer 1

`\begin{array}{llll} \textit{using the pythagorean theorem} \\\\ a^2+o^2=c^2\implies o=√(c^2 - a^2) \end{array} \qquad \begin{cases} c=\stackrel{hypotenuse}{50}\\ a=\stackrel{adjacent}{14}\\ o=\stackrel{opposite}{wall} \end{cases} \\\\\\ wall=√( 50^2 - 14^2)\implies wall=√( 2500 - 196 ) \implies wall=48`

Answer 2

50 squared is 2500, 14 squared is 196. you need to use pythagorean theorem. so 2500-196 is 2,304. you then need to find the square root of 2304 which is 48. the ladder reaches up 48 feet