Question

A 25 foot ladder leans against a house. How far is the foot of the ladder from base of the building if the top of the ladder is 30 feet from the ground?

Answer 1

Answer:

15ft

Step-by-step explanation:

Because the Pythagorean theorem stats $A^{2}+B^{2}=C^{2}$ the first leg, the unknown leg would be A. The leg that is the side of the house would be substituted in for B. The length of the ladder would be C. Thus $x^{2}+20^{2}=25^{2}$, then you would simplify it to $x^2+400=625$ then you would subtract 400 from both sides. Then that would equal $x^{2}=225$. Then you would square root both sides giving you $x=15$.