Raymond B. answered • 12/06/20
Math, microeconomics or criminal justice
If it's noon at the equator and the sun is directly overhead, there is no shadow, except for the size of the kite. So you must be assuming a different time of day or place.
around sunset or sunrise, the shadow would be sort of nearly infinite.
the length of the shadow would seem to be more a function of the time of day, distance from the equator, time of year and size of the kite than how long the string was. It would also help to know the angle of the line with the ground. If the angle were near zero, the shadow would be near zero.
if the string were zero length, there would be no shadow. so string length does have some effect on the shadow length.
You must be making some simplifying assumptions to get the height of the kite. If the kite is directly above, an angle of 90 degrees with the ground, the kite is 9 feet high, regardless of the shadow length. the angle determines the height, independent of any shadow length.
But maybe the shadow length determines the angle?
If the shadow is somehow the length from the lower end of the line to the point directly below the kite, then there is a right triangle with hypotenuse = 9, base=7 and height = square root of (81-49) = sqr32 = about 5.7 feet. Add to that however tall the person is holding the line.
Okay, I'm not sure exactly where the shadow came into this problem. But if this were a test, and they didn't explain it further just write something, something with some math in it, that shows you know enough to get at least some partial credit.
