Camila needs to fix the window on the front of her house. The bottom of the window is 16 ft. from the ground. She only has a 20 ft. ladder. How far from the base of the house should she set the ladder so that the top of the ladder is exactly at the bottom of the window?

Answer 1

Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can solve this problem.

Let x be the distance from the base of the house to the ladder.
Using the Pythagorean theorem, we have:
x^2 + 16^2 = 20^2

Simplifying, we get:
x^2 + 256 = 400

Subtracting 256 from both sides, we get:
x^2 = 144

Taking the square root of both sides, we get:
x = 12 ft

Therefore, Camila should set the ladder 12 ft from the base of the house.