a 20 ft ladder is placed 12 feet away from the post. how high is the post

Question

anonymous · Answer

pls fast this answer i need it tomorrow :(

anonymous · Answer

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anonymous · Answer

When you can sketch, why not?

sheraz12345 · Answer

Apply Pythagoras therom

anonymous · Answer

With the post perpendicular to the floor you can see a 90 degree angle is formed.

anonymous · Answer

Pythagoras' theorem states that a^2  = b^2 + c^2 where a is the hypotenuse (in this case the ladder is the hypotenuse which is easiest to surmise when you realise that the ladder will be opposite the ninety degree angle created by the flat earth and the post perpendicular to it), and b and c are the other sides of the right-angled triangle.

We have the length of a and either b or c (doesn't matter which) so

20^2 = 12^2 + c^2
I.e. c^2 = 400 - 144
c^2 = 256
c = 16

This means the length of the post is 16 feet tall

anonymous · Answer

Oops, sorry! The length of the post is 16 feet; the length isn't 16 feet tall :P

anonymous · Answer

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