A contractor leans a 23-foot ladder against a building. The distance from the ground to the top of the ladder is 9 feet more than the distance from the building to the base of the ladder. How far up the building is the ladder to the nearest tenth of a foot?

Answer 1

x^2 + (x-9)^2 = 23^2
2 x^2 - 18 x + 81 = 529
2 x^2 - 18 x - 448 = 0
x^2 - 9 x - 224 = 0
well 20 * 11 = 220 so about 20 but use
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