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hello, this is trignometry question. its a story problem. when the base of a ladder that had been resting flat against a wall is pulled out 4 meters, the top of the ladder descends one-fifth of the length of the ladder. what is the length of the ladder thank u :)
Do i smell homework???
Seeing as this was your 20th post, not just your first, i will help you.
1) Draw a diagram -most helpful!! :D
2) Label as much as possible
i.e. let the length of the ladder be k => the initial height = k, the new height be... ;)
3) In your answer use stuff like: "Assuming that the angle formed between the ground and the wall is a right angle..." and "taking the 'top of the ladder' mentioned here to mean the lop of the side pole, not the top of the highest rung..." :p
4) If you can't do it using trig, solve using pythagoras (simpler), then work backwards to solve using trig. When writing up your answer, only write the trig. part :)
I'm sorry, i can't say much more without answering it.
Do i smell ?
1) Draw a picture of your house :D
2) Draw trees around your house ;)
3) Do other rubbish :cool:
I'm sorry, i can't say much more because i don't know the answer.
I'm sorry if i have offeded you, Butbut.
If you are sql_loll, then i'm sorry i mentioned whatever i did, but i did help answer the question, didn't I??
If you aren't sql_loll, the i'm terribly sorry for the interruption, I'll keep looking.
Let me see:
At first the entire length of the ladder, L, lies flat against the wall.
Then the ladder is pulled away so that the base is 4 feet away from the wall and the top of the ladder descends 1/5 the length of the ladder.
So, if you were to draw a diagram, you would see that the final result would be a right triangle with a base of 4, a hypotenuse of L, and a height of 4/5 L.
Using the pythagorean theorem you get:
L^2 = (4/5 L)^2 + 4^2 = 16/25 L^2 + 16
L^2(1 - 16/25) = 16
L^2 = 16/(9/25)
L = 4 x 5/3
L = 20/3 = 6 2/3