The bottom of the ladder is at 8 feet from the wall.
The position of the ladder will form a right angled triangle with the wall. The perpendicular is 15 feet. Let the distance between ladder and wall be x. Thus, the length of the ladder will be 2x + 1. Forming a equation according to Pythagoras theorem.
(2x + 1)² = x² + 15²
Expanding the equation
4x² + 1 + 4x = x² + 225
Rewriting the equation
4x² - x² + 4x = 225 - 1
Performing subtraction
3x² + 4x = 224
3x² + 4x - 224 = 0
Factorizing the quadratic equation, we get -
x = -9.3 and 8
The distance can not be negative. Hence, the value of x is 8.
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