ken leans a 12 foot ladder against his house . he places the ladder so that the base is 5 feet from the house. how far up the house does the ladder reach

Respuesta :

Hey there!

First imagine this ladder as a right triangle, the length, 12 would be the slant height, the distance from the house, 5 would be the base length, and the height of how far up the ladder reaches would be the height of the triangle.

To represent this missing height, you can define it as the x variable.

Now, to solve for this x variable, you must use the Pythagorean theorem:
a^2+b^2=c^2

a and b are the two legs, and c is the slant length.

Now, plug in your known values:
(5)^2+(x)^2=(12)^2

Now, simplify:
25+x^2=144

Now, solve for x:
25+x^2=144
x^2=119
x=[tex] \sqrt{119} [/tex]
x is about 10.9.

Therefore, your final answer would be that the ladder reaches approximately 10.9 feet up the house.

The height of the house is [tex]10.9[/tex]  feet, i.e.   [tex]10.9[/tex] feet up ladder reach the house.

What is Pythagoras theorem ?

Pythagoras theorem states that the square on the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides.

i.e.

Pythagoras theorem: [tex](Hypotenuse)^2=(Perpendicular)^2+(Base)^2[/tex]

i.e. [tex]H^2=P^2+B^2[/tex]

We have,

Length of ladder  [tex](H)=12[/tex] feet

Distance between house and base of ladder [tex](B)=5[/tex] feet

Let, Height at which ladder reach the house  [tex](P)=h[/tex] feet

So,

Using the Pythagoras theorem;

[tex]H^2=P^2+B^2[/tex]

So,

[tex]12^2=h^2+5^2[/tex]

[tex]144=h^2+25[/tex]

⇒ [tex]h^2 =119[/tex]

[tex]h=10.9[/tex] feet

So, the height of house is  [tex]10.9[/tex]  feet.

Hence, we can say that the height of the house is [tex]10.9[/tex]  feet, i.e.   [tex]10.9[/tex] feet up ladder reach the house.

To know more about  Pythagoras theorem click here

https://brainly.com/question/343682

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