Question

On a sunny afternoon, the Stratosphere Tower casts a shadow that is 140 meters long. At the same time, a nearby flagpole that is 10 meters tall casts a shadow that is 4 meters long. Write and solve a proportion to find the height of the Stratosphere Tower.

Answer 1

x m tall 10 m tall

--------------- = ------------

140 m shadow 4 m shadow

The height of the Stratosphere Tower is 350 m

Explanation:

We can use proportions to solve this problem. Put the height of the object over the length of the shadow.

x m tall 10 m tall

--------------- = ------------

140 m shadow 4 m shadow

Using cross products

x*4 = 10 * 140

4x =1400

Divide by 4

4x/4 = 1400/4

x =350

The height of the Stratosphere Tower is 350 m