Question

Shanice wants to determine the height of a tree in a field. She measures the tree’s shadow to be 36 feet long. Then she stands next to the tree and measures her own shadow to be 3 feet long. She knows that she is 5 feet tall. Using similar triangles, find the height of the tree to the nearest foot. *1 point

Answer 1

Shanice wants to determine the height of a tree in a field. She measures the tree’s shadow to be 36 feet long. Then she stands next to the tree and measures her own shadow to be 3 feet long. She knows that she is 5 feet tall. Using similar triangles, find the height of the tree to the nearest foot.

Remember that

In similar triangles, the ratio of their corresponding sides is proportional

so

Applying proportion

Let

x ----> the height of the tree

5/3=x/36

solve for x

x=(5/3)*36

x=60 ft