Answer:
16 feet
Step-by-step explanation:
The length of the ladder=20 feet
Distance from the base of the ladder to the house = 12 feet
You will notice that a wall is vertical and the ladder makes an angle with the horizontal ground(making it the hypotenuse). This is a right triangle problem.
To find the how far up the house can the ladder can reach, we simply find the third side of the right triangle.
From Pythagoras theorem
[tex]Hyp^2=Opp^2+Adj^2\\20^2=12^2+Adj^2\\Adj^2=400-144\\Adj^2=256\\Adj=\sqrt{256}=16[/tex]
The third side of the right triangle is 16. Therefore the ladder leans 16 feet from the ground.
Answer:
16 feet
Step-by-step explanation:
the height of the ladder, the distance from the ladder base to the house and the height of the house the ladder will reach will form a triangle, as shown in the image.
To know the height of the house the ladder will reach, we just need to use Pythagorean theorem. Being h the house's height we want, we have:
20^2 = 12^2 + h^2
h^2 = 400 - 144 = 256
h = 16 feet.
