A ladder lies against the wall. The top of the ladder is 5 m above the ground. If the foot of the ladder is 6 m away from the wall, how long is the ladder? Give non-exact numerical answers correct to 3 significant figures.
Question
A ladder lies against the wall. The top of the ladder is 5 m above the ground. If the foot of the ladder is 6 m away from the wall, how long is the ladder? Give non-exact numerical answers correct to 3 significant figures.
Solution
This problem can be solved using the Pythagorean theorem, which states that in a right-angled triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides.
Here, the ladder acts as the hypotenuse, the wall is one side of the triangle and the ground is the other side.
Given: Height of the wall = 5 m (This is one side of the triangle) Distance of the foot of the ladder from the wall = 6 m (This is the other side of the triangle)
We need to find the length of the ladder (the hypotenuse).
According to the Pythagorean theorem:
Length of the ladder = √((Height of the wall)^2 + (Distance of the foot of the ladder from the wall)^2)
Substituting the given values:
Length of the ladder = √((5 m)^2 + (6 m)^2) = √(25 m^2 + 36 m^2) = √(61 m^2) = 7.810 m
Rounding to three significant figures, the length of the ladder is approximately 7.81 m.
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