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WAEC 2024 · Paper 1 · Q22

A ladder 15 m15\text{ m} long leans against a vertical pole, making an angle of 72∘72^\circ with the horizontal. Calculate, correct to one decimal place, the distance between the foot of the ladder and the pole.

Worked solution (try it first)
  1. The ladder (15 m) is the hypotenuse, and the distance from the foot to the pole is next to the 72∘72^\circ angle at the ground.
  2. So the distance is 15cos⁡72∘=15×0.309015\cos72^\circ = 15 \times 0.3090
    ≈4.635\approx 4.635 m.
  3. To one decimal place, that is 4.6 m, option D.

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