Question

a 24 - foot ladder is leaning against a vertical wall, with the bottom of the ladder on level ground 10 ft from the base of the wall. what strategy can you use to find out whether the ladder reaches the second - story window? count the ladder rungs pythagorean theorem no strategy is needed, since you already know the ladder reaches 24 feet high. proportion

Explanation:

The ladder, the ground, and the wall form a right - triangle. The ladder is the hypotenuse (\(c = 24\) feet) and the distance from the base of the wall to the bottom of the ladder is one leg (\(a=10\) feet). The Pythagorean theorem \(a^{2}+b^{2}=c^{2}\) (where \(b\) is the height on the wall) can be used to find the height the ladder reaches on the wall. Counting ladder rungs is not a valid mathematical method. Saying no strategy is needed is incorrect as the 24 - foot length of the ladder is the hypotenuse, not the height on the wall. Proportion is not relevant here as there is no similar - triangle or ratio context given other than the right - triangle formed by the ladder, wall, and ground.

Answer:

Pythagorean theorem