The base of a ladder is placed 5 feet away from a 13 foot tall wall. What is the minimum length ladder needed to reach the top of the wall (rounded to the nearest foot)?
The minimum length ladder needed can be found using the Pythagorean theorem.
Let the length of the ladder be x.
According to the Pythagorean theorem,
x^2 = 5^2 + 13^2
x^2 = 25 + 169
x^2 = 194
x = sqrt(194)
x ≈ 13.93 feet
Rounded to the nearest foot, the minimum length ladder needed is 14 feet.