Question

A vertical meter stick casts a shadow 40 cm long at the same time a flagpole casts a shadow 10 feet long. How tall is the flagpole?

Answer 1

The first step we need to take is to convert the size of the meter stick to centimeters. This is done below:

Now that both the height and the shadow are on the same unit, we can create a proportion to determine the height of the flag. Which is done below:

`\frac{100\text{ cm}}{40\text{ cm}}=\frac{x\text{ ft}}{10\text{ ft}}`

We can eliminate the units, then cross multiply to determine x.

`\begin{gathered} (100)/(40)=(x)/(10) \\ 40\cdot x=100\cdot10 \\ 40\cdot x=1000 \\ x=(1000)/(40)=25 \end{gathered}`

The flag has a height of 25 ft.