There is a slide in the park that is 18 feet long. The ladder to the top of the slide is 7.5 feet long. If the ladder and the slide are perpendicular, what is "D", the distance from the top of the slide to the ground? Explain how you got your answer.

Answer 1

the distance from the base of the ladder to the base of the slide is

d = √(7.5^2 + 18^2)
by similar triangles, the desired height h is

h/7.5 = 18/d
figure d, get h.