SOLUTION: I submitted this before but my question got cut off somehow but here it is again. a 40 foot ladder is leaning against a building so that the distance from the bottom of the lad

Algebra ->  Length-and-distance -> SOLUTION: I submitted this before but my question got cut off somehow but here it is again. a 40 foot ladder is leaning against a building so that the distance from the bottom of the lad      Log On

Let x = how far up the building the ladder reaches (vertical leg).
Then the other leg is (x+8).

The Pythagorean equation is 

 = .

 = ,

 = ,

(x-24)*(x+32) = 0,

The only positive root is x = 24.

Check.  = .