Question

Bella leans a 20-foot ladder against a wall so that it forms an angle of 76° with the ground. What’s the horizontal distance between the base of the ladder and the wall? Round your answer to the nearest tenth of a foot if necessary.

Answer 1

4.8 feet

Explanation:

Use the cosine ratio, since we are given the length of the hypotenuse (the ladder) and are asked to find the horizontal distance between it and the ground.

Let x represent the horizontal distance (the adjacent leg)

cosine θ = adjacent / hypotenuse

cosine 76° = x / 20

(20)(cosine 76°) = x

4.8 = x

So, the horizontal distance is approximately 4.8 feet