How tall is a person based on the shadow cast?

Question

A person is standing 2.4 feet away from a light pole that is 25 feet tall. if the shadow cast by the person is 10 feet long, how tall is that person?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated 

Answer 1

Shadow problems are solved by recognizing the formation of similar triangles.     The man and his shadow form two sides of a right triangle.   The lamp post and a line on the ground from the base to the tip of the shadow form two corresponding sides of a similar triangle.

 

 

From that relationship, we can write   25/(2.4 + 10)  = x/10   x = 10*25/(12.4) = 20 ft 2 inches.   Of course, this problem uses numbers that are somewhat ridiculous.