Walls of two buildings on either side of a street are parellel to each other. A ladder 5.8 m long is placed on the street such that its top just reaches the window of a building at the height of 4 m. On turning the ladder over to the other side of the street , its top touches the window of the other building at a height 4.2 m. Find the width of the street.

Question

Philoid · Accepted Answer

Let us consider a distance x m on the street from one building and a distance y m from the other one.

Now according to question,

In the 1^st case,

5.8² = 4² + x²

⇒ x² = 17.64

⇒ x = 4.2

Similarly for the second building,

5.8² = 4.2² + y²

⇒ y² = 16

⇒ y = 4

Total width = x + y

= 4 + 4.2

= 8.2

Thus the total width is 8.2m.