Question

Maria needs to reach a window that is eight feet above the ground. When she placed a ladder so that it reached the bottom of the window, the base of the ladder was 6 feet from the house. How long is the ladder?

Answer 1

10 feet

Explanation:

Given that the distance to be reached is 8 feet above ground and she she placed a ladder so that it reached the bottom of the window, the base of the ladder was 6 feet from the house, the length of the ladder considered with the other lengths forms a right angled triangle.

The length of the ladder represents the hypotenuse side hence using pythagoras theorem

F^2 = 8^2 + 6^2

where F is the length of the ladder in feet

F^2 = 64 + 36

= 100

find the root of both sides

F = 10 feet

The ladder is 10 feet long