A ladder leans against the side of a house. The top of the ladder is 12 ft from the ground. The bottom of the ladder is 8 ft from the side of the house. Find the length of the ladder. If necessary, round to the nearest tenth. Using the Pythagorean theorem, what is the length of the ladder?
a) 10.0 ft
b) 14.4 ft
c) 15.6 ft
d) 18.4 ft