Question 715515
It might help you understand if you draw a diagram. Make the chimney a vertical line segment. The ground will be a horizontal line. The ladder will be a slanted line segment from the chimney to the ground. The diagram should be a right triangle.<br>
The base of the chimney is where the chimney (vertical) meets the ground (horizontal). From here to where the ladder touches the ground is 8 feet. The ladder (which is the hypotenuse for this triangle) is 17 feet.<br>
We can use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the distance from the bottom/base of the chimney to where the ladder touches the chimney:
{{{x^2+8^2=17^2}}}
No we solve. Squaring the 8 and the 17:
{{{x^2+64=289}}}
Subtracting 64:
{{{x^2=225}}}
Square root (ignoring the negative square root because we do not want a negative height):
{{{x = 15}}}
So the distance from the bottom/base of the chimney to where the ladder touches the chimney is 15 feet.