Question

A building has a shadow that is 18 feet long. Will is 5 feet tall, and he is standing next to the building. Will has a shadow that is 3 feet long what is the height of the building

Answer 1

Proportion states that the two fractions or ratios are equal.

Given the statement: A building has a shadow that is 18 feet long. Will is 5 feet tall, and he is standing next to the building. Will has a shadow that is 3 feet long.

⇒ Shadow of a building = 18 feet, Height of the boy = 5 feet and shadow of the boy = 3 feet.

Let x be the height of the building.

By definition of proportion;

`\frac{\text{Height of the boy}}{\text{Shadow of the boy}} =\frac{\text{Height of the building}}{\text{Shadow of the building}}`

Substitute the given values we get;

`(5)/(3)=(x)/(18)`

Multiply both sides by 18, we get;

`x = (5)/(3) * 18 = 5 * 6 = 30`

Therefore, the height of the building is, 30 feet.