A 12 foot-ladder is resting against a wall. The base of the ladder is 2.5 feet from the base of the wall.How high up the wall will the ladder reach?

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Answer 1 · 2018-06-01T17:17:25

#~~11.74 ft.#

#a^2 + b^2 = c^2#

c = 12

b = 2.5

#a^2 + 2.5^2 = 12^2#

#a^2 + 6.25 = 144#

#a^2 = 137.75#

#a = +-sqrt(137.75)#

#a~~+-11.74#

We can ignore the negative value because a the length has to be positive:

#~~11.74 ft.#