SOLUTION: A window washer climbs a 23 foot ladder to wash a large window. Just when the washer reached the top of the ladder, his pail fell 21 feet to the ground. Find the distance from the

Question 510879: A window washer climbs a 23 foot ladder to wash a large window. Just when the washer reached the top of the ladder, his pail fell 21 feet to the ground. Find the distance from the building to the foot of the ladder. Approximate to the nearest integer and draw a diagram. I used a squared plus b squared in c squared and came up with 31.14 and rounded it to 31. Is this correct and if so i don't understand how to draw the diagram. Please help. Thank you in advance.
Answer by mananth(16946) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
ladder is 23 feet (Hypotenuse)
when he drops the pail it falls 21 feet . so vertical distance = 21 feet.
(leg1)
Using Pythagoras theorem
hyp^2=leg1^2+leg2^2
Hyp^2-leg1^2= leg 2^2
23^2-21^2= leg2^2
sqrt((23)^2-(21)^2)= 9.38
rounded of to 9 feet
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