Question

An electrician leans an extension ladder against the outside wall of a house so that it reaches an electric box 28 feet up. The ladder makes an angle of 71degrees
∘
with the ground. Find the length of the ladder. Round your answer to the nearest hundredth of a foot if necessary.

Answer 1

Let L be the ladder length. In the right triangle, sin(71°) = opposite/hypotenuse = 28/L, so L = 28 / sin(71°) ≈ 29.61 ft.