A 12ft ladder leans against the side of a house. The bottom of the ladder is 8 ft from the side of The house. How high is the top of the ladder from the ground? If necessary, round your answer to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

Using the Pythagorean theorem (a^2 + b^2 = c^2) where a = 8 ft, b = height of the ladder from the ground, and c = 12 ft (the length of the ladder):

8^2 + b^2 = 12^2
64 + b^2 = 144
b^2 = 80
b = √80
b ≈ 8.9 ft

Therefore, the top of the ladder is approximately 8.9 ft from the ground.