SOLUTION: A ladder is resting against a wall. The top of the ladder touches the wall at 9 feet high. Find the length of the ladder if the length is three more feet than the distance of the b
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Question 251278: A ladder is resting against a wall. The top of the ladder touches the wall at 9 feet high. Find the length of the ladder if the length is three more feet than the distance of the bottom of the ladder from the wall.
a) 9 feet b) 12 feet c) 15 feet d) 18 feet e) 21 feet Answer by unlockmath(1688) (Show Source):
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Since we are dealing with a right triangle we can use the following formula:
a^2 + b^2 = c^2 Let "a" be the height of the wall where the latter is touching.
We can represent the length of the latter as b+3, therefore we can plug these into the formula:
9^2 + b^2 = (b+3)^2 rewritten as:
81 + b^2 = b^2 +6b + 9 Subtract b^2 from both sides and subtract 9 from both sides will give us:
72 = 6b Divide 6 into both sides will be:
12=b Now we know the latter is 15 feet long and the base is 12 feet.
RJ
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