Question

Jack has a 35-foot ladder leaning against the side of his house. If the bottom of the ladder is 21 feet away from his house, how many feet above the ground does the ladder touch the house?

Answer 1

Answer: the answer would be 28 ft

Answer 2

The distance above the ground does the ladder touch the house x = 28 ft

Explanation:

Given data

Length of the ladder = AC = 35 ft

BC = 21 ft

AB = x = distance above the ground does the ladder touch the house

From Δ ABC

`AC^(2) = AB^(2) + BC^(2)`

`35^(2) = x^(2) + 21^(2)`

`x^(2) = 784`

x = 28 ft

Therefore the distance above the ground does the ladder touch the house is x = 28 ft