Question

Scout places his 20-foot step ladder against a house he is painting. If the bottom of the ladder is 5 feet from the base of the house, how high above the ground is the top of the ladder touching the house, to the nearest tenth of a foot?
A. 182 ft.
B. 19.4 ft.
C. 15.0 ft.
D. 20.6 ft.

Answer 1

Use the Pythagorean theorem: height = sqrt(20^2 − 5^2) = sqrt(400 − 25) = sqrt(375) ≈ 19.4 ft.
Answer: B.