A ladder is leaning against a building. The distance from the bottom of the ladder to the building is 6 ft shorter than the length of the ladder. How high up the side of the building is the top of the ladder if that distance is 3 ft less than the length of the ladder?
Let height up the wall that the ladder rests, be H
Then height of ladder (hypotenuse of right triangle formed) = H + 3, and distance from bottom of ladder to base of building = H + 3 - 6, or H - 3
We then get:
H(H - 12) = 0
H - 12 = 0 OR H = 0 (ignore)
H, or height up the wall that the ladder rests =