The distance between the ladder and the base of the building is 8.717 feet.
The Pythagoras theorem states that the square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
Given that the length of the ladder is 20 ft and it reaches a window 18 ft high as shown in the attachment.
We can see that the window and ladder arrangement makes a right-angle triangle in which the ladder acts as a hypotenuse.
The distance between the base of the building and the ladder is calculated using the Pythagoras theorem.
[tex]H^2 = L^2 + B^2[/tex]
Where H is the hypotenuse, L is the height of the window from the base of the building and B is the distance between the ladder and base of the building.
[tex]20^2 = 18^2 + B^2[/tex]
[tex]400 -324 = B^2[/tex]
[tex]B = \sqrt{76}[/tex]
[tex]B = 8.717 \;\rm ft[/tex]
Hence we can conclude that the distance between the ladder and the base of the building is 8.717 feet.
To know more about the Pythagoras theorem, follow the link given below.
https://brainly.com/question/343682.
