Question

A 10 m ladder leans against a wall and makes an angle of 60° with the ground. How far up the wall does it reach, and how far is its foot from the wall? (Use √3 = 1.732.)

Solution

1. The ladder is the hypotenuse (10 m) of a right triangle.
2. Height up the wall = 10 sin 60° = 10 x √3/2 = 5√3 = 5 x 1.732 = 8.66 m.
3. Distance of the foot from the wall = 10 cos 60° = 10 x 1/2 = 5 m.
4. The ladder reaches about 8.66 m up the wall, and its foot is 5 m from the wall.