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

Question

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

Answer 1

To determine how far from the base of the house Camila should set up the ladder, we need to use the Pythagorean theorem.

Let's assume the distance from the base of the house to where Camila should set up the ladder is "x" ft. The height of the ladder will be 20 ft.

According to the Pythagorean theorem, the equation will be: x^2 + 16^2 = 20^2.

Simplifying the equation, we get: x^2 + 256 = 400.

Subtracting 256 from both sides, we have: x^2 = 400 - 256.

Simplifying further, we get: x^2 = 144.

Taking the square root of both sides, we have: x = √144.

So, x = 12.

Therefore, Camila should set up the ladder 12 ft from the base of the house.