A ladder is leaning against a building so that the distance from the ground to the top of the ladder is 8...

Question

A ladder is leaning against a building so that the distance from the ground to the top of the ladder is 8 feet less than the length of the ladder. Find the length of the ladder if the distance from the bottom of the ladder to the building is 16 feet.
The length of the ladder is

SnapAndSolve AI · Accepted Answer

Let the length of the ladder be L feet. The distance from the ground to the top of the ladder is L - 8 feet. The distance from the bottom of the ladder to the building is 16 feet.

Using the Pythagorean theorem:

(L - 8)^2 + 16^2 = L^2

Expanding and solving:

L^2 - 16L + 64 + 256 = L^2
-16L + 320 = 0
16L = 320
L = 20

The length of the ladder is 20 feet.

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A ladder is leaning against a building so that the distance from the ground to the top of the ladder is 8...

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