Here, you can imagine a right-angled triangle. The two legs being the wall and the ground, and the ladder is the hypotenuse. Since we are given the hypotenuse, and one of the legs, we can solve the Pythagorean's Theorem for one side:
[tex]a^2+b^2=c^2[/tex]
[tex]b = \sqrt{c^2-a^2} [/tex]
Plug in known values (remember, c is the hypotenuse, INC the ladder):
[tex]b = \sqrt{5^2-4^2} = \sqrt{25-16} = \sqrt{9} =3, -3[/tex]
Since we only care about the positive distance, the answer cannot be negative.So, the tiny, tiny elf would have to put the ladder 3ft away from the wall! Hope this is helpful! If you need anymore help, feel free to drop a message!
