A 34-ft. ladder resting against the wall of a building forms a right triangle with the wall and ground. The bottom of the ladder is 8 ft. away from the base of the building. How far up the side of the building does this ladder reach?

Answer: 26 feet

A 34-ft. ladder resting against the wall of a building forms a right triangle with the wall and ground. So this is one of the legs and equal 34 feet.

The bottom of the ladder is 8 ft. away from the base of the building. This is another leg and equal 8 feet.

You need to find the hypotenuse.

Using The Pythagorean Theorem:

c^2 = a^2 + b^2, where a and b are legs and c is hypotenuse

c^2 = 34^2 + 8^2

c^2 = 1156 + 64

c^2 = 1220

c = √1220

c = 34.93

Answer

The side of the building = 34.93 ft