Question 1032571
<pre>
[My wife and I climbed to the top of that very Lighthouse 
just last summer.]

This is not a realistic problem at all, for that lighthouse 
is 193 feet high.  Look it up!  Your problem as stated would make it 
one of the shortest lighthouses in North America! :)

{{{matrix(1,2,"woman's", height)/matrix(1,2,"woman's",shadow)}}}{{{""=""}}}{{{matrix(1,2,"lighthouse's", height)/matrix(1,2,"lighthouse's",shadow)}}}

The lady above has all but solved it for you.  I'll give you another
problem:

The Cape Hatteras lighthouse on the outer banks of North 
Carolina is the tallest lighthouse in north america. It 
is 193 feet high.  If the Cape Hatteras lighthouse casts 
a 54-foot shadow, how long is the shadow of a 5 foot woman 
standing on the ground in the vicinity of the lighthouse?

{{{5/x}}}{{{""=""}}}{{{193/54}}}

{{{193x}}}{{{""=""}}}{{{5*54}}}

{{{x}}}{{{""=""}}}{{{5*54/193}}}

{{{x}}}{{{""=""}}}{{{1.4}}} feet approximately.

If the problem were realistic, that's how short the woman's 
shadow would be, not 12 feet.

Edwin</pre>