Description
the base of a ladder should be placed 2 feet from the wall for every 5 feet of ladder length. how high can a 15-foot ladder safely reach. The answer needs to be rounded to the nearest hundredth.
Explanation & Answer
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For every 5 foot ladder length the span on the ground is 2 ft
So we need to calculate span on the ground for 15 ft
5:2 = 15:x
5/2 = 15/x
or x/2 = 15/5
x= (15/5) *2 = 6 ft
The span on the ground is 6 ft
To calculate the height we should use pythogorean theorem
c^2 = a^2 + b^2 where c is hypotenuse
In our question the hypotenuse is the length of ladder
if h is the height reached.
15^2 = 6^2+h^2
225 = 36 + h^2
h^2 = 225-36 = 189
h = 13.74777 = 13.75
The height the ladder can reach is 13.75ft.
Please let me know if you need any clarification. I'm always happy to answer your questions.Review
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