A building is 2 ft from a 9-ft fence that surrounds the property. Worker wants to wash window in the building 13 ft from the ground. He wants to place ladder over fence so it rests against the building. He decides he should place the ladder 8 ft from the fence for stability. to nearest tenth of foot, how long does ladder need to be?

Question

A building is 2 ft from a 9-ft fence that surrounds the property.  Worker wants to wash window in the building 13 ft from the ground.  He wants to place ladder over fence so it rests against the building.  He decides he should place the ladder 8 ft from the fence for stability.  to nearest tenth of foot, how long does ladder need to be?

Gray · Answer

It helps to draw a picture. You can ignore the length of the fence, add 2 to 8 to get the length of the one leg of the triangle (the other is 13), and use the formula a^2 + b^2 = c^2

anonymous · Answer

Thanks. I tried that, but am still not getting the book answer of 16 ft 4 inches.

Gray · Answer

The book could be wrong. The wording is a little confusing too.