document.write( "<A HREF=/cgi-bin/jump-to-question.mpl?question=1192717>Question 1192717</A>: <I><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> A ladder is leaning against a building so that the top is 8 feet above the ground. The length of the ladder is 2 feet less than twice the distance of the bottom of the ladder from the building. Find the length of the ladder. </SPAN>\n" );
document.write( "</I><HR><TABLE width=100%><TR><TD><B><A HREF=http://www.algebra.com/>Algebra.Com's</A> Answer #824651 by </B><A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=greenestamps><B>greenestamps(13200)</B></A><img src=\"/images/stars/stars-13.gif\" alt=\"\" >&nbsp;<A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=greenestamps><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/cgi-bin/show-face.mpl?user=greenestamps><BR>You can <A HREF=\"/cgi-bin/embed-solution.mpl?show=1&solution=824651\">put this solution on YOUR website!</A><BR><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> <br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "The other tutor showed a perfectly good formal algebraic solution.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "For a student just learning how to solve problems using algebra, I would recommend learning how to solve the equation <IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=/cgi-bin/plot-formula.mpl?expression=3x%5E2-8x-60=0 ALIGN=MIDDLE  ALT=\"3x%5E2-8x-60=0\"   DISABLED_style= \"max-width:90%; height:auto;\" > by factoring instead of using the quadratic formula.  Going to the effort of doing the factoring gives you more useful brain exercise than just plugging numbers into a formula.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "And if formal algebra is not required, you can solve this problem in a very little time using logical reasoning.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "The distances given in the problem are whole numbers, so the lengths of all the sides of the triangle are very probably whole numbers.  Since one leg of the right triangle is 8, it is almost certain that the right triangle will have side lengths of 6, 8, and 10.  And looking at those lengths we quickly see that they satisfy the conditions of the problem.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "ANSWER: the length of the ladder is the hypotenuse, which is 10 feet.<br><BR>\n" );
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