Question

A 25 foot ladder leans against a house. How far is the foot of the ladder from the base of the building if the top of the ladder is 20 feet from the ground?

Answer 1

Answer:

Step-by-step explanation:

This scenario forms a right triangle

the ladder is the hypotenuse

  20 ft is one of the legs

  find the other leg

You can use Pythagorean theorem

  hypot^2 = leg1^2 + leg2^2

  hypot^2  = 20^2 + x^2

     25^2  = 400 + x^2

    225 = x^2

     x = 15 ft