Question

denise is using a ladder to clean the outside of her second story windows. The ladder she is using a 24 feet long, and she outs the base of the ladder 13 feet away from the house in order to avoid her flower gardens. How high up the side of her house does the ladder reach? Round to nearest tenth, if neccessary.

Answer 1

This is a right-angle triangle, with hypotenuse 24 ft and base 13 ft.  The Pythagorean Theorem applies here:

24^2 = 13^2 + h^2.  Then  576 = 169 + h^2, and h^2 = 407.

Taking the square root of both sides, we get h = +√407, which is approx. 20.2 ft.

The top of the ladder is approx 20.2 ft above ground level.