Errol Groff wrote:

Ladder_Problem.PDF is an interesting math problem I found in the book
Machine Shop Trade Secrets by James A Harvey.

The solution I used to find the answer will be posted as
Ladder_Problem_Answer.PDF

http://metalworking.com/DropBox/

Errol Groff

Instructor, Machine Tool Department

H.H. Ellis Technical High School
643 Upper Maple Street
Dantieson, CT 06239

New England Model Engineering Society
www.neme-s.org


I did a back of the napkin approximation:

Since 24" is only 1/5 of 120", I figured that I could
ignore the difference between the actual radius and
the vertical height to get the horizontal length of the
large triangle.
Since the horizontal distance of the triangle that is 4/5
the size of the real one, the real one would be:
5/4 x 24" = 30"

Solving the python theorem:

120^2 = H^2 + 30^2

H = 116.19

which is not a bad approximation.

Bob