Question

1. a 10 - foot tall ladder is placed against a wall so that the top of the ladder is 9 feet above the ground. how far is the base of the ladder from the base of the wall along the ground?

Explanation:

Step1: Apply Pythagorean theorem

Let the distance from the base of the ladder to the base of the wall be \(x\). According to the Pythagorean theorem \(a^{2}+b^{2}=c^{2}\), where \(c = 10\) (length of the ladder, hypotenuse) and \(a=9\) (height on the wall). So \(x^{2}+9^{2}=10^{2}\).

Step2: Solve for \(x\)

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Answer:

The base of the ladder is approximately \(4.36\) feet from the base of the wall.