1. **State the problem:** Sean leaned a 12-foot ladder against his house forming a 68° angle with the ground. We need to find the distance from the base of the house to the base of the ladder. 2. **Identify the formula:** We can model this as a right triangle where the ladder is the hypotenuse ($12$ feet), the angle with the ground is $68^\circ$, and the distance from the house is the adjacent side to the angle. 3. **Use the cosine function:** The cosine of an angle in a right triangle is the ratio of the adjacent side over the hypotenuse: $$\cos(\theta) = \frac{\text{adjacent}}{\text{hypotenuse}}$$ 4. **Plug in the known values:** $$\cos(68^\circ) = \frac{\text{distance}}{12}$$ 5. **Solve for distance:** $$\text{distance} = 12 \times \cos(68^\circ)$$ 6. **Calculate the cosine:** Using a calculator, $$\cos(68^\circ) \approx 0.3746$$ 7. **Multiply:** $$\text{distance} = 12 \times 0.3746 = 4.4952$$ 8. **Round to the nearest tenth:** $$\text{distance} \approx 4.5 \text{ feet}$$ **Final answer:** The ladder is placed approximately 4.5 feet from the base of the house.