Question

A 13.5-meter ladder leans against a brick wall and the ladder makes a 75∘ with the wall. The distance d the ladder goes up the wall is -- meters. Round your answer to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

3.5 m

Explanation:

Use Pythagorean theorem to find the distance (d) the distance goes up the wall = adjacent to the angle 75° that is formed with the wall.

Length of ladder = the hypothenuse = 13.5 m

Thus, we would use:

Cos75 = adjacent/hypothenuse

Cos 75 = d/13.5

Multiply both sides by 13.5

13.5*cos(75) = d

13.5*0.2588 = d

3.4938 = d

d ≈ 3.5 m (nearest tenth)