SOLUTION: A 25 foot ladder is leaning against a house and forms a 32 degree angle with the ground to the nearest foot, how far above the ground does the ladder touch the house, also how far

Algebra ->  Pythagorean-theorem -> SOLUTION: A 25 foot ladder is leaning against a house and forms a 32 degree angle with the ground to the nearest foot, how far above the ground does the ladder touch the house, also how far       Log On


   

Question 754159: A 25 foot ladder is leaning against a house and forms a 32 degree angle with the ground to the nearest foot, how far above the ground does the ladder touch the house, also how far is the bottom of the ladder away from the house?
Answer by Cromlix(4381) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
A Trigonometric problem
Imagine a right angled triangle
The 25ft ladder is the hypotenuse
The wall of the house is the opposite side
The base is the adjacent side.
The angle 32 degrees
Using Sin = Opposite/Hypotenuse
Sin 32 = Opposite/25
Opposite = Sin32 * 25 = 13.3 ft
This is how far up the wall it rests on.
Then we use Cos = adjacent/hypotenuse
Cos 32 = adjacent/25
Adjacent = Cos 32 * 25 = 21.2 feet
This is distance between ladder and wall
on the ground.
Hope this helps
:-)