See You Ladder (Updated!)

How high can ladders safely reach?

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See You Ladder (Updated!)

How high can ladders safely reach?

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Check it out! This lesson was just updated in September 2024, and we hope you love the new and improved version. If you've already prepped an earlier version, fear not, you can still find those here through Thursday December 5, 2024.

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2023-2024 Versions

In the fall of 2024, Citizen Math released updated versions of every lesson in our library, plus a few new ones! We know you may have already prepped an earlier version or planned a repeat of last year, so we're continuing to make these earlier versions available through Thursday December 5, 2024.

You can find the new lessons through the regular search, and we hope you love them as much as we do. You can read more about these updates in Our Community.

How high can ladders safely reach? Safety experts recommend placing a ladder one foot away from a building for every four feet of height. This ratio keeps everyone from homeowners to fire-fighters safe, but it also limits how high they can reach.

Students use the Pythagorean Theorem to determine the maximum height ladders can safely reach and discuss the implications for fire safety and building construction.

REAL WORLD TAKEAWAYS

  • Ladders positioned on the ground should maintain a safe height:distance ratio of 4:1 to be maximally stable.
  • Even fully extended, fire truck ladders can’t reach every floor of a tall building.
  • Residents of high-rise buildings should know what to do in case of a fire.

MATH OBJECTIVES

  • Use Pythagorean Theorem to solve real-world problems
  • Model real-world scenarios geometrically

Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.
Grade 8
Squares, Roots, Irrationals
Grade 8
Squares, Roots, Irrationals
Content Standards 8.G.7 Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to determine unknown side lengths in right triangles in real-world and mathematical problems in two and three dimensions.
Mathematical Practices MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. MP.4 Model with mathematics.

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