Two window washers, Farid and William, lean a ladder against the side of a building so that Farid can wash a window while William holds the ladder. The top of the ladder reaches the window, which is 15 feet off the ground. The base of the ladder is 8 feet away from the building. How long is the ladder? feet

**Step 1: Understand the Problem** We are given a ladder leaning against a building with the top at the window, which is \(15\) feet above the ground. The base of the ladder is \(8\) feet away from the building. We need to find the length of the ladder. **Step 2: Use the Pythagorean Theorem** The situation forms a right triangle where: - One leg (vertical side) is the height of the window: \(15\) feet. - The other leg (horizontal side) is the distance from the building: \(8\) feet. - The hypotenuse is the length of the ladder, which we will denote as \(L\). The Pythagorean theorem states that: \[ L^2 = 15^2 + 8^2 \] **Step 3: Calculate the Squares** Calculate each squared term: \[ 15^2 = 225 \] \[ 8^2 = 64 \] **Step 4: Sum the Squares** Add the squared terms to find the square of the ladder's length: \[ L^2 = 225 + 64 = 289 \] **Step 5: Solve for \(L\)** Find the length \(L\) by taking the square root of both sides: \[ L = \sqrt{289} = 17 \] **Conclusion** The length of the ladder is **17 feet**.