A pole that is 2.9 tall casts a shadow that is 1.45 long. At the same time, a nearby tower casts a shadow that is 38.25 long. How tall is the tower?

Answer 1

This would form two similar triangles.

Let y be the height of the tower

2.9/1.45 = y/38.25

Solve for y.

Answer 2

Hi Mikaela,

Notice that the height of the pole is 2x that of its shadow (2.9 = 1.45*2).

So, the height of the tower is 2x that of its shadow = 2(38.25) = 76.5.

Answer 3

x/38.25=2.9/1.45

x=

x/7.65 = 2.9/0.29

x=2.9(7.65)/.29 = 76.5

76.5 is the Answer