Ladder Sliding Down The Wall

Topic: Ladder sliding down the wall
Question: At what rate is the shovel sliding along the ground?
A gardener’s shovel is 1 m long and leaning against a fence. When the top
of the shovel is sliding down the fence at a rate of 0.25 m/s. When the top
of the shovel is 0.5 m off the ground, at what rate is the bottom of the
shovel sliding along the ground away from the fence?
Answer choices:
3 3
A m/s
4
4 3
B m/s
3
4
C m/s
3
3
D m/s
12
575
Solution: D
The gardeners shovel, the fence and the ground form a right triangle in
which the shovel is the hypotenuse. Since we know that the equation of a
right triangle is given by a 2 + b 2 = c 2, we can say that a is the distance along
the ground from the fence to the bottom of the shovel, that b is the
distance along the fence from the ground to the top of the shovel, and
that c is the hypotenuse of the triangle and the length of the shovel.
As with any related rates problem, the first thing we should do is write
down what we know.
db 1
Change in b with respect to time =−
dt 4
Note: We say that db/dt is negative because the top of the

shovel is sliding down the fence, which means that length of
the side b of our right triangle is getting smaller.
Length of the shovel c=1
Equation of the right triangle a2 + b2 = c2
And then we write down what we need to find.
da
Change in a with respect to time when b = 1/2
dt
Since we know we need to solve for da /dt, we can expect to use implicit
differentiation to take the derivative of the equation of the right triangle,
since taking the derivative of that equation with respect to time will give us
da /dt on the left.
576
So, starting with the equation of the triangle, we’ll first plug in any values
we already have, in this case c = 1.
a2 + b2 = c2
a 2 + b 2 = (1)2
a2 + b2 = 1
Now we’ll use implicit differentiation to take the derivative of both sides of
the equation with respect to time.
da db
2a + 2b =0
dt dt
We’re looking for the change in a with respect to time, so we need to solve
for da /dt.
da db
2a = − 2b
dt dt
db
da −2b dt
=
dt 2a
We know that we’re trying to find da /dt when b = 1/2, and we know that
db/dt = − 1/4. Plugging these into our equation, we get
da −2 ( 12 ) (− 14 )
=
dt 2a
1
da 4
=
dt 2a
577
da 1
=
dt 8a
Since we have a leftover a in our answer, it means we need to find the

value of a when b = 1/2.
a2 + b2 = 1
(2)
2
1
a2 + =1
3
a2 =
4
3
a=±
4
We can discount the negative value because the distance along the
ground between the fence and the bottom of the shovel can’t be negative
(we’re talking about distances in real space!). Therefore
3
a=
4
Plugging this into our equation for da /dt gives
da 1
=
dt 8a
da 1
=
dt 8 34
578
da 1
=
dt 8
3
2
da 1
=
dt 4 3
The fact that da /dt is positive tells us that the distance along the ground
between the fence and the bottom of the shovel is increasing, and we can
say that the shovel is sliding along the ground at a rate of
1
m/s
4 3
which, when we rationalize the denominator is
4 3( 3)
1 3
m/s
3
m/s
12
579
Question: A 5 foot ladder is sliding down a vertical wall while its bottom
slides away from the wall at 3 ft/s. How fast is the top moving when the
top is 4 feet off the ground?
Answer choices:
9
A − ft/s
4
4
B − ft/s
9
3
C − ft/s
2
2
D − ft/s
3
580
Solution: A
To solve for the rate of change of a ladder sliding down a wall over time,
we’ll need to use the Pythagorean theorem
a2 + b2 = c2
where a is the distance from the top of the ladder to the ground on the
wall, b is the distance from the wall to the bottom of the ladder on the
ground, and c is the length of the ladder.
First you’ll need to take the derivative of the formula for a triangle with
respect to time. Since c is a constant (the length of the ladder does not
change) it will become 0 when we differentiate.
da db
2a + 2b =0
dt dt
We already know from the question that
db
=3
dt
a=4
c=5
First we need to find the distance for b. We can do this using a 2 + b 2 = c 2,

a = 4 and c = 5.
a2 + b2 = c2
(4)2 + b 2 = (5)2
581
16 + b 2 = 25
b2 = 9
b=3
Finally, knowing that db/dt = 3, a = 4 and b = 3, we can plug everything into

the formula.
da db
2a + 2b =0
dt dt
da
2(4) + 2(3)(3) = 0
dt
da
8 + 18 = 0
dt
da
8 = − 18
dt
da 9
=−
dt 4
The fact that this is negative indicates that the ladder is sliding down the
wall, not up the wall. The rate at which the ladder is sliding down the wall
is −9/4 ft/s.
582
Question: A 13 foot ladder is sliding down a vertical wall while its bottom
slides away from the wall at 9 ft/s. How fast is the top moving when the
top is 5 feet off the ground?
Answer choices:
A −2.16 ft/s
B −21.6 ft/s
C −216 ft/s
D −2,160 ft/s
583
Solution: B
To solve for the rate of change of a ladder sliding down a wall over time,
we’ll need to use the Pythagorean theorem
a2 + b2 = c2
where a is the distance from the top of the ladder to the ground on the
wall, b is the distance from the wall to the bottom of the ladder on the
ground, and c is the length of the ladder.
First you’ll need to take the derivative of the formula for a triangle with
respect to time. Since c is a constant (the length of the ladder does not
change) it will become 0 when we differentiate.
da db
2a + 2b =0
dt dt
We already know from the question that
db
=9
dt
a=5
c = 13
First we need to find the distance for b. We can do this using a 2 + b 2 = c 2,

a = 5 and c = 13.
a2 + b2 = c2
(5)2 + b 2 = (13)2
584
25 + b 2 = 169
b 2 = 144
b = 12
Finally, knowing that db/dt = 9, a = 5 and b = 12, we can plug everything into
the formula.
da db
2a + 2b =0
dt dt
da
2(5) + 2(12)(9) = 0
dt
da
10 + 216 = 0
dt
da
10 = − 216
dt
da
= − 21.6
dt
The fact that this is negative indicates that the ladder is sliding down the
wall, not up the wall. The rate at which the ladder is sliding down the wall
is −21.6 ft/s.
585

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Topic: Ladder sliding down the wall

Question: At what rate is the shovel sliding along the ground?

Note: We say that db/dt is negative because the top of the

Length of the shovel c=1

Equation of the right triangle a2 + b2 = c2

And then we write down what we need to find.

Since we have a leftover a in our answer, it means we need to find the

Plugging this into our equation for da /dt gives

which, when we rationalize the denominator is

We already know from the question that

First we need to find the distance for b. We can do this using a 2 + b 2 = c 2,

Finally, knowing that db/dt = 3, a = 4 and b = 3, we can plug everything into

We already know from the question that

First we need to find the distance for b. We can do this using a 2 + b 2 = c 2,

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