Hi,
To solve this, we'll need to use proportional ratios, or ratios that are equivalent.
Since the tree's height is 5 feet long, and has a shadow of x feet in length (x being an unknown value), here's the ratio:
5/x
At the same time, Tyler is 4 feet tall, and has a shadow of 2 feet long, so here's the ratio:
4/2
Because the shadows are proportional to the heights, we'll set the ratios equal to each other:
5/x = 4/2
Now, we'll cross multiply:
5 × 2 = 10:
4 × x = 4x:
4x = 10
Finally, we'll divide both sides by 4:
x = 2.5
The tree's shadow's length is 2.5 feet long. Hope this helped!