A 20 ft. Ladder leans against a wall so that it can reach a window 18 ft off the ground. What is the angle formed at the foot of the ladder

3

step-by-step explanation:

isocolese triangle

we know that the line connect a and b is the hyptonuse

so first find the hypotonuse length using the distance formula, call the length c

since it is an isocolese triangle, the lengths of the legs are the same

using pythagorean theorem,

in this case, a=b since isocolese triangle so we get

or

we can find c so we can find the distances

we know that if we draw 2 circles, each has center at a and b, and find where they intersect, we can the 2 possible locations for c

if a has center at (xa,ya) and b has center at (xb,yb), then we can solve where

and

intersect to find where they intersect

i'm not going to put an example because i have to go to class. i hope this explanation is enough

-3(b-8)-5=9(b+2)+1

distribute

-3b+24-5=9b+18+1

add/ subtract

-3b+20=9b+19

20-19= 1

-3b+1=9b

9b+3b= 12b

1=12b

1 divided by 12 = 1/12

answer: 1/12 = b