Question 304918: A pole's shadow measures 3 1/2 feet when the shadow of a yardstick right next to the pole measures 15 inches. How tall is the pole?
Answer by Claire.123(5)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Hello!
You would use a ratio to solve this problem.
You know that a yardstick is 3 feet (given 1 yard = 3 feet), or 36 inches (1 foot = 12 inches).
This means that the ratio of the yardstick shadow:actual yardstick is 15 inches: 36 inches.
You are solving for x, which is the value for height of the pole in inches.
You also know that 3.5 feet converts to 42 inches (3.5 X 12).
You would set up the problem like this:
15:36 = 42:x
Then, you would cross multiply.
15 times x = 36 times 42.
Multiply 36 by 42.
15x = 1512
Then divide 1512 by 15.
x = 100.8 inches.
If you need to convert to feet, just divide by 12! :) So x = 8.4 feet
I hope this helps!!!
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