SOLUTION: Need help with this word problem. A painter leans a 10 foot ladder against a house, the distance from the base of the ladder to the house is 4 feet less than the distance from the

Question 211905: Need help with this word problem. A painter leans a 10 foot ladder against a house, the distance from the base of the ladder to the house is 4 feet less than the distance from the top f the ladder to the ground. How far up the house is the top of the ladder? Find the EXACT answer and the APPROXIMATE answer to the nearest hundredth.
I tried using the Pythagorean Theoriam, but I don't seem to be setting the problem up correctly.
Answer by Fombitz(32388) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
H=10
A=distance from ground to top of ladder
B=distance from corner to bottom of ladder
A^2+B^2=H^2
B=A-4
A^2+(A-4)^2=10^2
A^2+(A^2-8A+16)=100
2A^2-8A+16=100
2A^2-8A-84=0
A^2-4A-42=0
Use the quadratic formula
A=(4+/-sqrt(4^2-4(1)(-42))/2
A=(4+/-sqrt(184))/2
A=(4+2*sqrt(46))/2
A=2+sqrt(46)=8.78
B=-2+sqrt(46)=4.78
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