A 15ft ladder is leaning against the wall of a house. The bottom of the ladder i

Question

A 15ft ladder is leaning against the wall of a house. The bottom of the ladder is pulled away from the base of the wall at a constant rate of 2 ft per minute. At what rate is the top of the ladder sliding down the wall when the bottom of the ladder is 5 ft away from the wall?

The info that I have is:

x = 5

dx/dt = 2 ft/sec

dy/dt = ?

1) Given formula to use.

2) Find derivative of both variables in terms of time.

3) Substitute in the given values.

4) Find the unknown value.

5) Solve for the unknown.

Explanation / Answer

x*x + y*y = l*l

2x dx/dt + 2y dy/dt = 0

5 *2 = -sqrt[200] dy/dt

dy/dt = -1/sqrt[2]

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