Even though it was now middle of winter, Jack hauled out his ladder and placed his ladder against the side of the house and began to climb. He had some bad luck when he reached the half-way point. The ground was a frozen sheet of ice and the base of his ladder slipped out and the top slid down the side of the house. Jack, clinging to the center rung, wound up moving from Point A on the side of his house to Point B on the ground.

Describe the path Jack traveled.

Found it!

X^2 + Y^2 = R^2   or,

Y=sqrt(R^2 - X^2).

using the R=10, all these numbers work.

Jack's path from the wall (half the height of the ladder) to the ground (half the distance of the ladder) would be a 1/4 circle, with the radius 1/2 the length of the ladder. 

Posted by Jim on 2004-08-10 09:28:10