Question

A ten-foot ladder is leaning up against the side of a house, which is perpendicular to the flat ground. Someone is pulling the base of the ladder away from the side of the house at 0.8 meters per second. The top of the ladder makes contact with the side of the house at all times. Initially, the top of the ladder is 6 feet above the ground.

a) As the base of the ladder slides, the triangle formed by the ladder and the ground and the side of the house changes area. How far is the base of the ladder from the base of the wall when this triangle has maximum area? Show the analysis that leads to your conclusion.

Answer 1

0.8 m/ @ Base of the triangle is changing at the rate of 0.8m/s Cength of base = b (let) db = 0.8 at Tb = 0.87 Height of ladder - oft (initially) 2 1.8288 m