Question

Michele wanted to measure the height of her school’s flagpole. She placed a mirror on the ground 48 feet from the flagpole, then walked backwards until she was able to see the top of the pole in the mirror. Her eyes were 5 feet above the ground and she was 12 feet from the mirror. Using similar triangles, find the height of the flagpole to the nearest tenth of a foot.

Answer 1

20 ft.

Explanation:

`(x ft)/(48 ft) = (5 ft)/(12 ft) \\`

Cross multiply.

`12x = (5 ft) (48 ft)`

`12x = 240\\`

Solve for the variable.

`x = 20 ft`

Answer 2

height of the flagpole = x
distance from flagpole to the mirror = 48 ft
height of Michele = 5 ft
distance from Michele to the mirror = 12 ft

Now, set the proportion.

x/48 = 5/12
48 * x/48 = 5/12 * 48
x = 240/12
x = 20

So, the height of the flagpole is 20 ft.

HOPE THIS HELPS!!!!