Question

Jessica is 65 in. tall and casts a shadow along the ground. A right triangle is formed between the top of Jessica's head, the bottom of Jessica's feet, and the end of Jessica's shadow. The angle formed at the end of her shadow is 40°. How long is her shadow?

Answer 1

Based on the information given you create an image to guide you best. From there you need to remember that the reference angle is given (which is 40) since the length opposite to this angle is given (65 in height of Jessica) the length of the shadow is needed or the length adjacent to this angle. Therefore the rule of tangent is used and once all calculations are completed you get that the length of the shadow is 77 inches.