document.write( "Question 86095: The diagram above (not to scale) shows how an elementary student
\n" );
document.write( "who is 4 feet tall estimates the height of a lamppost. The student
\n" );
document.write( "stands 30 feet from the base of the lamppost and measures her
\n" );
document.write( "shadow from the light as 6 feet long. Approximately how high is
\n" );
document.write( "the lamppost?
\n" );
document.write( "A. 20 feet
\n" );
document.write( "B. 24 feet
\n" );
document.write( "C. 36 feet
\n" );
document.write( "D. 45 feet \n" );
document.write( "
Algebra.Com's Answer #62208 by jim_thompson5910(35256)![]() ![]() ![]() You can put this solution on YOUR website! To find the unknown side, we can use proportions to find the missing side.\r \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Since we have 2 similar triangles, the ratio of the sides of the triangles are the same. Since the ratio of the sides of the small triangle are the same, this ratio is true:\r \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "This basically says: \"the ratio of the side with length of 4 to the side of length 6 is equal to the ratio of side x to side 36 (notice the sides of the triangles correspond to one another)\r \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "So the length of the unknown side is 24, which means the lamppost is 24 feet high\r \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "So the answer is B) \n" ); document.write( " |