A fence 5 feet tall runs parallel to a tall building at a distance of 4 feet from the building. What is the length of the shortest ladder that will reach from the ground over the fence to the wall of the building?

Question

anonymous · Answer

any idea how im supposed to solve this? @mathstudent55 i know its similar triangles but thats it

anonymous · Answer

@dan815 can you help, please?

mathstudent55 · Answer

|dw:1406600431857:dw|

anonymous · Answer

@mathstudent55 i know the picture would look like that and the whole bottom would be x+4

mathstudent55 · Answer

|dw:1406602686701:dw|

mathstudent55 · Answer

From similar triangles we have:

$\dfrac{x}{5} = \dfrac{x + 4}{y} $

$y = \dfrac{5(x+4)}{x} $

|dw:1406602863902:dw|