Question 1129993: The tallest tree in the United States is a coast redwood into Jedidah Smith state park in California. It is 321 feet tall. Suppose you are 5’8” tall and Cast a Shadow that is 2 feet at a certain time of day. About how long is the tree shadow at the same time a day (convert 5’8” to feet)
Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let's convert the person's height to feet only
5 feet, 8 inches = 5 feet + 8 inches
5 feet, 8 inches = 5 feet + (8 inches)*(1 foot/12 inches)
5 feet, 8 inches = 5 feet + (8/12) feet
5 feet, 8 inches = 5 feet + (2/3) feet
5 feet, 8 inches = (5 + (2/3)) feet
5 feet, 8 inches = ((15/3) + (2/3)) feet
5 feet, 8 inches = ((15+2)/3) feet
5 feet, 8 inches = (17/3) feet (this is exact)
5 feet, 8 inches = 5.667 feet (this is approximate)
Using the exact measurement, we can set up a proportion
A/B = C/D
where
A = height of person
B = length of shadow of person
C = height of tree
D = length of shadow of tree
So we have
A = 17/3
B = 2
C = 321
D = x
which means...
A/B = C/D
(17/3)/2 = 321/x
(17/3)*x = 2*321 cross multiply
(17/3)*x = 642
(3/17)*(17/3)*x = (3/17)*642
x = 1926/17 exact length of the tree's shadow (as an improper fraction)
x = 113.2941 the approximate length of the tree's shadow
Answer: roughly 113.2941 feet
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