WORD PROBLEM NEED HELP ASAP

[Guest]

a ladder is leaning against a wall. the distance from the bottem of the ladder to the base of the wall is 8 feet less than the length of the ladder. how high up the wall does the ladder reach if that height is 1 foot less than the length of the ladder?

 

[jacket81]

problem

OKay, letting x be length of ladder, then (x-8)^2 + (x-1)^2 = x^2.
You end up getting x^2-18x+65 = 0.
Then, you just either factor it out or use quadratic formula.