Question

The base of a ladder should be placed 3ft from the wall for every 5ft of ladder length. How long a ladder is needed to safely reach 36 fee above the ground?

Answer 1

Step 1. draw a diagram so the picture of the problem is clear
There is a 36' wall
It forms a right triangle with the hypotenuse labeled "x" (this is what you're trying
to find
Now label the remaining leg. Here is where you need to put on the thinking cap...
The problem states for every 5 ft in x, you will need 3 ft in the remaining leg. So that would be labeled 3(x/5)

Step 2 Look at the diagram with the labels and solve for x using the Pythagorean formula.