A ladder is leaned against a building. The bottom of the ladder is 9 feet from the building. The top of the ladder is 16 feet above the ground. What is the slope of the ladder?

Question

beststudent · Answer

But how do you know it is not the other way?

beststudent · Answer

It does. The question asks about the slope.

beststudent · Answer

The first one you showed me, it is a positive slope. The second one is a negative slope.

beststudent · Answer

That is all it is given. No diagrams or other explanations.

mathmale · Answer

From the wording of your question, I assume the height of the top of the ladder is 16 ft. and that the bottom of the ladder is 9 ft. away from the wall.  What is the slope of the ladder if you're ascending the ladder?

mathmale · Answer

(-9,0) is, unfortunately, not correct.  That's a point.  It's not a slope.

slope = (rise) / (run)

Draw a pic and determine what the "rise" and the "run" are.

beststudent · Answer

I said (-9,0), because someone else answered it, and drew a diagram and plotted the wrong points.

beststudent · Answer

Is the answer either -16/9 or 16/9?

mathmale · Answer

We teat the slope of the roof as positive, moving from the lowest part to the highest.   The slope is 9:16.  That's a rise of 9 when the run is 16.