Question

A 20-foot ladder leaning against a building makes an angle of 60° with the ground. How far from the base of the building is the foot of the ladder?

Answer 1

The foot of the ladder is `10` feet away from the base of the wall.

Explanation:

Here , the wall , top and foot of the ladder and ground makes a

right triangle of which length of ladder `h=20` is regarded as

hypotenuse, angle with ground is `theta = 60^0 ; cos theta =b/h` or

`cos 60 = b/20 or b = 20 * cos 60 = 20 * 1/2 = 10` feet.

The foot of the ladder is `10` feet away from the base of the wall. [Ans]