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?
10 ft C. 15 ft
18 ft D. 20 ft
Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can solve this problem. Let x be the distance between the foot of the ladder and the base of the building.
We know that the ladder, the wall, and the ground form a right triangle. The ladder is the hypotenuse, the distance between the foot of the ladder and the building is one leg, and the distance from the building to the point on the ground directly below the top of the ladder is the other leg.
Using the Pythagorean theorem, we get:
x^2 + 20^2 = 25^2
Simplifying:
x^2 + 400 = 625
x^2 = 225
x = 15
Therefore, the foot of the ladder is 15 feet from the base of the building. The answer is C. 15 ft.