A 36 m long ladder is placed against a wall. It is inclined at an angle of \(60^\circ\) to the ground. What is the distance (in m) of the foot of the ladder from the wall?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → 18
The ladder, the wall and the ground form a right-angled triangle with the ladder as the hypotenuse. The distance from the wall is the side next to the \(60^\circ\) angle, so it is found with the cosine.
\(\cos 60^\circ=\displaystyle\frac{\text{distance from the wall}}{36}\)
Distance \(\displaystyle=36\times\frac{1}{2}=18\) m
