The angle of elevation of a ladder leaning against a wall is $ 60^{\circ} $ and the foot of the ladder is $ 9.5 \mathrm{~m} $ away from the wall. Find the length of the ladder.


Given:

The angle of elevation of a ladder leaning against a wall is \( 60^{\circ} \) and the foot of the ladder is \( 9.5 \mathrm{~m} \) away from the wall.

To do:

We have to find the length of the ladder.

Solution:  

Let $AB$ be the wall and $AC$ be the ladder.

The foot of the ladder(point $C$) is \( 9.5 \mathrm{~m} \) away from the wall.

From the figure,

$\mathrm{BC}=9.5 \mathrm{~m}, \angle \mathrm{ACB}=60^{\circ}$

Let the length of the ladder be $\mathrm{AC}=h \mathrm{~m}$

We know that,

$\cos \theta=\frac{\text { Base }}{\text { Hypotenuse }}$

$=\frac{\text { BC }}{AC}$

$\Rightarrow \cos 60^{\circ}=\frac{9.5}{h}$

$\Rightarrow \frac{1}{2}=\frac{9.5}{h}$

$\Rightarrow h=9.5 \times 2 \mathrm{~m}$

$\Rightarrow h=19 \mathrm{~m}$

Therefore, the length of the ladder is $19 \mathrm{~m}$. 

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Updated on: 10-Oct-2022

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