praxis question

Question

if tom is standing next to a fire hydrant. the fire hydrant casts a shadow that is 32 inches long. tom's casts a shadow that is 48 inches long.  if the hydrant is 40 inches tall, how tall is tom?Study for praxis 2 and I was stuck on how to solve this problem

Answer 1

Use proportions:

 

Fire hydrant         Tom's height

------------------   =  -------------------

Its Shadow           His Shadow

 

40/32 = x/48

 

(40/32)*48 = x

 

Solve for x (Tom's height)