For a 16-foot ladder, what fraction of its height should the base be away from the wall?

• A. 1/8 the height
• B. 1/4 the height
• C. 1/2 the height
• D. 1 the height

Answer: (B)

Lean the ladder using a stable angle, which comes from treating the setup as a right triangle: the ladder is the hypotenuse, the distance from the wall is the base, and the height up the wall is the vertical leg. A practical safety rule is to place the base about one-quarter of the ladder’s length away from the wall. This angle, around 75 degrees, provides a strong, stable lean without being too steep or too shallow. For a 16-foot ladder, one-quarter of the height is 4 feet, so the base should be about 4 feet from the wall.