Question

At a certain time of day, Lindsay's shadow is 9 ft long. If the angle of elevation of the sun is 32°, how tall is Lindsay?

Answer 1

To determine Lindsay's height, we can use the concept of similar triangles and trigonometry. Since we know the length of Lindsay's shadow (9 ft) and the angle of elevation of the sun (32°), we can set up a proportion to find Lindsay's height.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine Lindsay's height, we can use the concept of similar triangles and trigonometry.

Since we know the length of Lindsay's shadow (9 ft) and the angle of elevation of the sun (32°), we can set up a proportion to find Lindsay's height.

The ratio of the height to the shadow length is equal to the ratio of the opposite side to the adjacent side in the triangle formed by Lindsay, her shadow, and the sun.

Using the tangent function, we can calculate Lindsay's height as:

Height = Shadow Length × tan(Angle of elevation of the sun)

Plugging in the values, we get:

Height = 9 ft × tan(32°)

Using a calculator, we find that Lindsay's height is approximately 6.08 ft.