How far apart from the base of the house should an 18 foot ladder be placed so that it reaches the top of a 15 foot wall? Round your answer to the nearest WHOLE foot. EX: 15 ft NOT 15.2 ft
To solve this problem, we can use the Pythagorean theorem which states that in a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the longest side) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
Let's consider the ladder as the hypotenuse of the right triangle, with one side being the height of the wall (15 ft) and the other side being the distance from the base of the house to where the ladder is placed (let's call it x ft).
Using the Pythagorean theorem:
x^2 + 15^2 = 18^2
x^2 + 225 = 324
x^2 = 324 - 225
x^2 = 99
Taking the square root of both sides, we get:
x = √99
x ≈ 9.94987
Rounding to the nearest whole foot, the ladder should be placed approximately 10 feet away from the base of the house.