A 13-foot ladder leans against the side of a building. The base of the ladder is 5 feet from the building. Risa calculates that the top of the ladder rests [math]\sqrt{13^2 - 5^2}[/math] feet up the side of the building. How high does the ladder reach?
[list=1] [*]Simplify the expression under the radical symbol. [*]Find the square root of the simplified expression. [/list] This applet is provided by Walch Education as supplemental material for their mathematics programs. Visit [url="http://www.walch.com"]www.walch.com[/url] for more information on their resources.