Question

The shadow of a ferris wheel is 75 feet long. An 8 foot flag pole next to it has a shadow that is 15 feet long. How tall is the ferris wheel

Answer 1

40 foot tall Ferris Wheel.

Explanation:

Since the Ferris wheel and flag pole are next to each other, we can assume that the ratio of shadow length to object height should be the same for both objects:

Flag Pole/FP_Shadow = 8'/15'

Ferris Wheel(x)/FW_Shadow = (x)/(75')

(x)/(75') = 8'/15'

x = (8'/75')/(15')

x = 40 feet

= 40 foot Ferris Wheel.

Head for the flagpole climb. It will be more exciting.

Answer 2

Explanation:

You can solve this problem using similar triangles. The ratio of the height of the flagpole to the length of its shadow should be the same as the ratio of the height of the ferris wheel to the length of its shadow, since both triangles are similar.

Let Hf be the height of the ferris wheel, Sf be the length of its shadow, Hp be the height of the flagpole, and Sp be the length of its shadow. We know:

Hp = 8 feet (height of the flagpole)

Sp = 15 feet (length of the flagpole's shadow)

Sf = 75 feet (length of the ferris wheel's shadow)

Now, set up the proportion:

(Hp / Sp) = (Hf / Sf)

Plug in the known values:

(8 / 15) = (Hf / 75)

Now, solve for Hf (height of the ferris wheel):

Hf = (8 / 15) * 75

Hf = 40 feet

So, the ferris wheel is 40 feet tall.