A 13 foot ladder is leaning against a building.The bottom of the ladder is 5 feet from the building.How high up does the ladder meet the wall?

1 answer

Use the Pythagorean Theorem.

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

a^2 + 5^2 = 13^2

a^2 + 25 = 169

a^2 = 169 - 25

a^2 = 144

a = 12