Can any one solve this math problem?

Please show your work after you are done, i will check the thread after a few days

There are ladders, one is 60 ft and the other is 40 ft. These 2 ladders are leaning against the  walls on the opposite side, the height from the (flat) floor to the intersection point of the 2 ladders is 7 ft, what is the distance between the 2 WALLS?

Not enough info, PP.

Are the toes of each ladder in the corner of the floor and the walls? Like this?...

That's how I pictured it.

I've done some calcs with similar triangles and Pythagoras but end up with an equation with x^4 + x^2 in it.

Tricky. Might need Woody's 4 Unit Maths brain for this one.

Here's as far as I got...

Maybe Dan can knock up an iterative calcs program to solve for 'X' above.  

By plugging the formula of each side of the equation above in an Excel spreadsheet and trialling different values of 'x", I get that "x" (the distance between the walls) = 39.135 feet (39 feet 1⅝ inches).

It's good of you to do PP's homework for him skully.

Always up for a maths challenge, Dan.

But I'm not sure PP's Maths lecturer would accept an iterative approach to getting the answer. I'm guessing the equation can probably be solved, it's just I couldn't be arsed messing with X to the 4th and X squared in the same equation.

Just noted a transcription error in Equation 2.

Should read K^2 + X^2 = 60^2 ... (not Y^2)

39.135 feet seems high, but I can't find an error in the equation nor my Excel strings. Oh well, did what I could, PP.  

Perhaps Mensa Man Woody can clean it up.

I don't know what the answer is skulls, but I do know it isn't 39 feet.

You can't have a 40 foot ladder across a 39 foot gap and be 7 feet off the floor at any point ... even where it touches the wall ... not so long as you've got a hole in your arse, anyroad  

The answer is Wasim Akram and Rashid Latif for the 7th wicket at Islamabad.

Growler wrote:I don't know what the answer is skulls, but I do know it isn't 39 feet.

You can't have a 40 foot ladder across a 39 foot gap and be 7 feet off the floor at any point ... even where it touches the wall ... not so long as you've got a hole in your arse, anyroad  

Yeah, logic told me this too, Growls, so there's seemingly a glitch somewhere in the calcs.

Actually 39.135 squared + 8.27 squared gives 1600 (square root = 40) so seemingly you can have a 39 foot gap and a 40 foot ladder 7 foot off the ground!!

Poor form of PP to be waiting a couple of days to answer this.

Skully - are you an engineer by chance?

Paul Keating wrote:Poor form of PP to be waiting a couple of days to answer this.

Skully - are you an engineer by chance?

Hehehe, how'd you guess?  

skully wrote:

Growler wrote:I don't know what the answer is skulls, but I do know it isn't 39 feet.

You can't have a 40 foot ladder across a 39 foot gap and be 7 feet off the floor at any point ... even where it touches the wall ... not so long as you've got a hole in your arse, anyroad  

Yeah, logic told me this too, Growls, so there's seemingly a glitch somewhere in the calcs.

Actually 39.135 squared + 8.27 squared gives 1600 (square root = 40) so seemingly you can have a 39 foot gap and a 40 foot ladder 7 foot off the ground!!

Better find me a dunces cap then buddy

I'm far too lazy to work anything out, but taking cosine from each side and tangent from the 7 point from each side. Calculate sin from there and sin^2+cos^2=1, giving a relation between two unknowns x and y. Should come as a degree 4 in x, so can't be arsed.

Just checking 39.135, seems to work from both sides.

Thanks t.

Wow. I have completely forgotten maths man. haven't touched it with a pole since school like for 22 years now except basic calculations for daily life.

 

Bumped for PP. Answer on page 1.

Just note: where the hand written notes say K^2 + Y^2 = 60^2 in Equation 2, it should read K^2 + X^2 = 60^2.

And to solve the equation I used an Excel spreadsheet with both sides of the equation in different cells, and trialled various values of "x" before arriving at the answer of 39.135 feet.

Excellent work Skully! Very impressed by how organized you are( assuming you are a CIVIL engineer).
This problem was given to me by a guy at a party last night, he said it took him over a week to do it(he is very good at math). I am quite certain that he said the correct answer is around 28... ! Skully's approach seems very good but not sure why the answer isn't spot on...

Yes, I'm a Civil Engineer, PP.

And 28 feet seems more likely, but I couldn't see where I'd made an error. Oh well, maybe Woody can spot my error.

I think the error is you are a SGDT

Nah, 28 feet ain't right. Sorry, can't let this go, PP. Have checked my maths and the Excel strings, so unless your mate gave you different ladder lengths, this is what the solution looks like...



Now A, don't be a complete dickhead all your life, ay. Give your little girl something to be proud of for a change.  

Skully, i can ask him again and will let you know soon