Question

Susan wanted to measure the height of her school’s flagpole. She placed a mirror on the ground 72 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 foot.

Answer 1

Explanation:

i got 30.....................

Answer 2

The triangle made by Susan, the flagpole and her line of sight is similar to the triangle formed between Susan and the mirror. In this case, using the theorem of similar triangles, the equation is x/(72+12)= 5/12 where x is the height of the pole. The height of the pole is 35 feet.