The base of a ladder is placed 5 feet away from a 13 foot tall wall. What is the minimum length ladder needed to reach the top of the wall (rounded to the nearest foot)?
Responses
A 12 ft12 ft
B 13 ft13 ft
C 14 ft14 ft
D 15 ft15 ft
E 16 ft
Using the Pythagorean theorem, the length of the ladder would be:
sqrt(5^2 + 13^2) = sqrt(25 + 169) = sqrt(194) = approximately 14 feet.
Therefore, the minimum length ladder needed to reach the top of the wall is 14 feet, rounded to the nearest foot.
The correct answer is C) 14 ft.