SOLUTION: If a 6-foot man casts an 8-foot shadow, how long of a shadow is cast by a 150-foot flagpole? Write the correct proportion and solve.

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Question 1090521: If a 6-foot man casts an 8-foot shadow, how long of a shadow is cast by a 150-foot flagpole?

Write the correct proportion and solve.
Found 2 solutions by Fombitz, greenestamps:
Answer by Fombitz(32388) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
6 is to 8 as 150 is to X.
.
.
.
6%2F8=150%2FX
X=150%288%2F6%29
Solve for X.

Answer by greenestamps(13198) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!

I always encourage students to think about a problem informally, without formal mathematics. For this problem, instead of going directly to proportion formulas, think informally about the actual situation.

The man is 6 feet tall, and his shadow is 8 feet long; his shadow is 4/3 as long as he is tall. So the same will be true about the tree and its shadow. The tree's height is 150 feet; its shadow will be 4/3 of that length.

(4/3)*150 = 4*50 = 200

The tree's shadow is 200 feet long.