A 25 foot ladder leans against a house. How far is the foot of the ladder from the base of the building if the top of the ladder is 20 feet from the ground?

Answer 1

We can use the Pythagorean theorem to solve this problem.

Let x be the distance from the foot of the ladder to the base of the building.

Then we have:

x^2 + 20^2 = 25^2

Simplifying this equation, we get:

x^2 = 25^2 - 20^2

x^2 = 625 - 400

x^2 = 225

Taking the square root of both sides, we get:

x = 15

Therefore, the foot of the ladder is 15 feet from the base of the building.