Question

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 up the ladder so that the top of the ladder is exactly at the bottom of the window?(1 point)
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Answer 1

Wromg

Answer 2

She should set up the ladder 4 ft. away from the base of the house.

Answer 3

My apologies for the incorrect response. To determine the correct distance from the base of the house to set up the ladder, we can use the Pythagorean theorem.

Let's denote the distance from the base of the house to the desired position of the ladder as x. The height of the ladder is 20 ft., and the height from the ground to the bottom of the window is 16 ft.

According to the Pythagorean theorem, (base)^2 + (height)^2 = (hypotenuse)^2, so (x)^2 + (16)^2 = (20)^2.

Simplifying the equation, we have x^2 + 256 = 400.

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

Taking the square root of both sides, we have x = ±12.

Since we are measuring distance, it must be positive, so x = 12 ft.

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