Final answer:
To find the actual height of Maggie's house, we set up a proportion using the model's dimensions and the actual width of the house. After cross multiplying and solving for the unknown variable, we determine the actual height to be 45 feet.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the actual height of Maggie's house, we need to use the scale of her model. First, we establish the scale by comparing the model's width to the actual width: the model is 12 inches wide, and the actual house is 60 feet wide. To convert feet to inches (since the width of the model is in inches), we remember that 1 foot is equal to 12 inches. Therefore, the actual width of the house in inches is 60 feet x 12 inches/foot = 720 inches.
Now we have our scale ratio: 12 inches (model) to 720 inches (actual). To find the actual height, we set up a proportion using the model's height: 12 inches / 720 inches = 9 inches / x inches, where x represents the actual height.
Cross multiply to solve for x: (12 inches) * (x inches) = (720 inches) * (9 inches), which simplifies to 12x = 6480. Divide both sides by 12 to solve for x, so x = 540 inches. To convert back to feet, we divide by 12 inches per foot, giving us the actual height of the house: 540 inches / 12 inches/foot = 45 feet.