Question

A guy wire connects the top of a 18 3/4 foot tall tornado siren to the ground where Samson's shadow ends. The distance from the base of the siren pole to where the wire touches the ground is 120 feet. If Samson is 6 1/4 feet tall and his head barely touches the guy wire where he is standing, how long is Samson's shadow?

Answer 1

40 feet

Explanation:

Required:

Find the length of Samson's shadow

The question can be illustrated with the attached figure where Samson's shadow is represented with x.

To solve for x, we make use of the following equivalent ratios:

`18.75 : 120 = 6.25 : x`

Convert to fraction

`(18.75)/(120) = (6.25)/(x)`

Cross Multiply

`18.75 * x = 120 * 6.25`

`18.75 * x = 750`

Make x the subject

`x =(750)/(18.75)`

`x =40`

Hence, Samson's shadow is 40ft