SOLUTION: I have the following homework problem I can not seem to fit into one of the provided answers: A 13-ft ladder is leaning against a building. The bottom of the ladder is 5 ft fro

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Question 110946: I have the following homework problem I can not seem to fit into one of the provided answers:
A 13-ft ladder is leaning against a building. The bottom of the ladder is 5 ft from the building. How high is the top of the ladder?
sq rt of 18ft
sq rt of 8ft
12 ft
sq rt of 194ft

Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
We basically have this triangle set up:


Since we can see that the triangle has legs of x and 5 with a hypotenuse of 13, we can use Pythagoreans theorem to find the unknown side.


Pythagoreans theorem:

where a and b are the legs of the triangle and c is the hypotenuse



Plug in a=x, b=5, and c=13. Now lets solve for x


Square each individual term



Subtract 25 from both sides


Combine like terms


Take the square root of both sides



Simplify the square root


So the ladder touches the 12 ft mark on the building

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