Question

a ladder 17 feet long is leaned up against a house, reaching a height of 15 feet. how far from the house is the base of the ladder?

Answer 1

Use the Pythagorean theorem to find the other leg of this right triangle.

a^2 + 15^2 = 17^2

Answer 2

Or if you recognize that the triangle formed is a 17-15-8 Pythagorean triple, you can easily guess that the third side is 8 ft.

Answer 3

8ft