Question

A wheelchair ramp is to be built at the town library. If the entrance to the library is 18 in. above ground, and the slope of the ramp is, how far out from the building will the ramp start?

Short answer

The ramp will start 270 inches apart from the building.

Step-by-step solution

Step-1 – Given

A wheelchair ramp is to be built at the town library. If the entrance to the library is 18 inch above ground and the slope of the ramp is $\frac{1}{15}$.

Step-2 – To determine

We have to find how far out from the building, the ramp will start.

Step-3 – Calculation 

According to the question we consider this figure below:

Let us assume,x= the distance between the building and the ramp.

So,

$\begin{array}{l}\text{slope}=\tan \theta =\frac{18}{x}=\frac{1}{15}\\ \frac{18}{x}=\frac{1}{15}\\ x=18\times 15=270\text{in.}\end{array}$

So, the ramp will start 270 inches apart from the building.