Camila needs to fix the window on the front of her house. The bottom of the window is 16 ft. from the ground. She only has a 20 ft. ladder. How far from the base of the house should she set up the ladder so that the top of the ladder is exactly at the bottom of the window
To solve this problem, we can use the Pythagorean theorem.
Let x be the distance from the base of the house to where the ladder is set up.
According to the Pythagorean theorem, the length of the ladder, the distance from the base to the top of the ladder, and the distance from the top of the ladder to the bottom of the window form a right triangle.
The length of the ladder is 20 ft, the distance from the base to the bottom of the window is 16 ft, and we need to find the distance from the base to the ladder.
Using the Pythagorean theorem, we have:
x^2 + 16^2 = 20^2
x^2 + 256 = 400
x^2 = 400 - 256
x^2 = 144
x = √144
x = 12
Therefore, Camila should set up the ladder 12 ft from the base of the house.