Question

A fire hydrant 2.5 feet high casts a 5 foot shadow how tall is a street light that casts a 26 ft shadow at the same time

Answer 1

13 feet

Using similar triangles to solve, that is the ratios of corresponding sides are equal

let the height of the street light be h, then it corresponds to the height of the fire hydrant and the shadows of both correspond to each other, hence

`(2.5)/(h)` =
`(5)/(26)` ( cross- multiply )

5h = 65 ( divide both sides by 5 )

h = 13

the height of the street light is 13 feet

Answer 2

Hi!

We will solve this using proportions, like this:

2,5 feet casts a 5 feet shadow

x foot casts a 26 feet shadow

_________________________

x = (26*2,5)/5

x = 65/5

x = 13

The street light is 13 feet tall.

Hope this helps!