document.write( "Question 747848: A light is to be mounted on the side of a building 18ft above the ground. The closest a ladder can be placed to the building is 6ft. To the nearest foot how long of a ladder will the electrician need so that he can mount the light? \n" ); document.write( "
Algebra.Com's Answer #455190 by Kg2003(10)\"\" \"About 
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If you draw the picture, you will see that it is a right triangle you are solving for. To solve for the hypotenuse(the ladder in this case) you would use the Pythagorean theorem which is \"+a%5E2%2Bb%5E2=c%5E2+\". When you substitute in your values you get \"+18%5E2%2B6%5E2=c%5E2+\"
\n" ); document.write( "Next simplify and get \"+324%2B36=c%5E2+\". Simplify some more and now you have \"+360=c%5E2+\" Square root both sides and do some rounding to get that the ladder is approximately 19 feet long.
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