document.write( "<A HREF=/cgi-bin/jump-to-question.mpl?question=93032>Question 93032</A>: <I><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> The base of a ladder is 14 feet away from the wall.  The top of the ladder is 17 feet from the floor.  Find the length of the ladder to the nearest thousandth. </SPAN>\n" );
document.write( "</I><HR><TABLE width=100%><TR><TD><B><A HREF=http://www.algebra.com/>Algebra.Com's</A> Answer #67706 by </B><A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=bucky><B>bucky(2189)</B></A><img src=\"/images/stars/stars-13.gif\" alt=\"\" >&nbsp;<A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=bucky><IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/images/aboutme-small.gif BORDER=0 alt=\"About Me\" VALIGN=MIDDLE></A>&nbsp;<IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/images/nopicture.jpg><BR>You can <A HREF=\"/cgi-bin/embed-solution.mpl?show=1&solution=67706\">put this solution on YOUR website!</A><BR><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> This is a Pythagorean theorem problem, because a right triangle is formed.<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "The wall is presumed to be perpendicular to the floor. When you lean a ladder against <BR>\n" );
document.write( "the wall, the ladder is opposite the right angle formed by the wall and the floor. Therefore,<BR>\n" );
document.write( "the ladder is the hypotenuse of the triangle.<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "The distance measured from the intersection of the floor and the wall and up the wall to<BR>\n" );
document.write( "the point where the ladder touches the wall (given as 17 ft) is one leg of the right <BR>\n" );
document.write( "triangle.<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "And the distance measured from the intersection of the floor and the wall and along the<BR>\n" );
document.write( "floor to the point where the ladder rests on the floor (given as 14 ft) is the other leg<BR>\n" );
document.write( "of the right triangle.<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "The Pythagorean theorem says that if you square the two legs and add these squares,<BR>\n" );
document.write( "the result is equal to the square of the hypotenuse. (Don't forget, the hypotenuse<BR>\n" );
document.write( "is the length of the ladder. Call it L.)<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "In equation form this becomes:<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=17%5E2+%2B+14%5E2+=+L%5E2 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"17%5E2+%2B+14%5E2+=+L%5E2\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
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document.write( "Doing the squares of the numbers makes the equation:<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=289+%2B+196+=+L%5E2 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"289+%2B+196+=+L%5E2\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
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document.write( "adding the numbers on the left side:<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=485+=+L%5E2 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"485+=+L%5E2\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
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document.write( "Solve for L by taking the square root of both sides to get:<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=L+=+sqrt%28485%29+=+22.02271555 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"L+=+sqrt%28485%29+=+22.02271555\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" ><BR>\n" );
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document.write( "Rounding to the nearest thousandth results in the length of the ladder being 22.023 feet.<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "Hope this helps you to work your way through the problem. I presume you are allowed to<BR>\n" );
document.write( "use a calculator to find the square root of 485 ...<BR>\n" );
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