Question

If the ladder is 10 m long and 5 m from the base of the building, how high up the building will the ladder reach?

•10^2 +5^2 =c^2 ;x= 125 m, which is a rational, whole number
• 5^2 + x^2 =10^2; × = 75 m, which is a rational, whole number
• square root 10^2 + 5^2 = c^2; c = square root 125, which is an irrational number and must be estimated at 11.2 m
• 5^2 + x^2 = 10^2; × = square root75 m, which is an irrational number and would be estimated to be 8.7 m.

Answer 1

Choose an answer and explain

Answer 2

Therefore, the ladder will reach up the building approximately 8.7 meters.

Answer 3

The correct answer is:

• 5^2 + x^2 = 10^2; x = square root(75) m, which is an irrational number and would be estimated to be 8.7 m.

This is the correct answer because we are looking for the height up the building the ladder will reach, which is represented by 'x' in the Pythagorean theorem formula. By solving for 'x' in the given equation, we find that the value is √75, which is approximately 8.7 meters. This is the most accurate estimate for the height reached by the ladder on the building.