SOLUTION: A ladder is leaning against a building so that the distance from the ground to the top of the ladder is 4 feet less than the length of the ladder. Find the length of the la

Algebra ->  Quadratic Equations and Parabolas  -> Quadratic Equations Lessons  -> Quadratic Equation Lesson -> SOLUTION: A ladder is leaning against a building so that the distance from the ground to the top of the ladder is 4 feet less than the length of the ladder. Find the length of the la      Log On


   

Question 1049017: A ladder is leaning against a building so that the distance from the ground to the top of the ladder is 4

feet

less than the length of the ladder. Find the length of the ladder if the distance from the bottom of the ladder to the building is 12 feet.
Answer by jorel555(1290) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let l be the length of the ladder. Then:
(12)²+(l-4)²=l²
144+l²-8l+16=l²
8l=160
l=20
The ladder is 20 feet long. ☺☺☺☺