A window is 12 feet above the ground. A ladder is placed on the ground to reach the window. If the bottom of the ladder is placed 5 feet away from the building, what is the length of the ladder?
You will need to use Pythagorean theorem a^2 + b^2 = c^2 the a and b values will be 12 and 5 feet. So just plug them in and solve for c. 12^2 + 5^2 = c^2 144 + 25 = c^2 169 = c^2 square root both sides 13 = c so the ladder has a length of 13 feet.