How far up the building will it reach?

A construction company plans to lean a 15ft ladder against a building from 7ft away. How far up the building will it reach?

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A right triangle is created with a leg of 7 feet, hypotenuse of 15, and an unknown leg.

Pythagorean Theorem is a² + b² = c²
a and b are the legs, and c is the hypotenuse

7² + b² = 15² {substituted into Pythagorean Theorem}
49 + b² = 225  {evaluated exponents}
b² = 176  {subtracted 49 from each side}
b ≈ 13.3 {took square root of each side}

It will reach approximately 13.3 feet up the building.

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