If the ladder is 16 feet long and the window ledge is 12 feet off the ground, how far from the house is the base of the ladder?

10.58 feet

Step-by-step explanation:

Hello!

If you think about how it would look in life you will notice that it looks like a right triangle which means we can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the far the ladder needs to be from the house.

The Pythagorean theorem is

a is a leg

b is the other leg

c is the hypotenuse

Since the ladder has to go from the ground to the window ledge it is the hypotenuse and the window ledge is a leg

Put in what we know

Now we solve for a

Simplify

a^2 + 144 = 256

Subtract 144 from both sides

a^2 = 112

Take the square root of both sides

a = 10.583

The answer is 10.58 feet

Hope this helps!