Question

Please HELP, Fan and Medal
John leaned a 17-foot ladder against his house. He placed the base of the ladder 8 feet from his house, and the top of the lader reached the base of his window. How high is the base of his window from the ground? If needed, draw a picture to help you solve the problem.

A.What formula would you use to solve this problem.
B. Show all work. Make sure to label your answer.

Answer 1

@sourwing

Answer 2

A. You use Pythagoras Theorem... a^2 + b^2 = c^2, where c represents the hypotenuse of the triangle. In this case, the ladder is the hypotenuse so c has value 17, and for the sake of argument, a is the floor distance and so has value 8.

B. 8^2 + b^2 = 17^2

64 + b^2 = 289

b^2 = 225

b = 15.