If you place a 34-foot ladder against the top of a 30-foot building, how many feet will the bottom of the ladder be from the bottom of the building?

Question

asked Nov 21, 2021 147k views

2 Answers

Geofrey Ssekirime · Answer 1 · 2021-11-28T02:26:04+0000

Answer:

It is 16 feet from the bottom of the building

Explanation:

Let the bottom of the ladder be x feet from the bottom of the building.

Note that the length of the ladder becomes the hypotenuse.

Then using Pythagoras theorem,

${34}^(2) = {x}^(2) + {30}^(2)$

We solve for x,

${34}^(2) - {30}^(2) = {x}^(2)$

$256 = {x}^(2)$

x = √(256) = 16

Therefore 16 feet from the bottom of the building