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Please help! a pole that is 2.5 m tall casts a shadow that is 1.65 m long. 38.25​

Please help! a pole that is 2.5 m tall casts a shadow that is 1.65 m long. 38.25​-example-1

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Answer:

Building's approximate height = 58 m

Explanation:

Step 1: Make use of the similar triangles to create an equation for the height of the building.

We can find the height of the building by making use of the two similar triangles.

The larger triangle is formed by:

  • The height of the building (let's call it h),
  • the length of the building's shadow (38.25 m),
  • and the distance between the top of the building and the top of its shadow (we don't need to know it for the problem).

The smaller triangle is formed by:

  • The height of the pole (2.5 m),
  • the length of the pole's shadow (1.65 m),
  • and the distance between the top of the pole and the top of its shadow (we also don't need to know it for the problem)

Step 2: Create the proportions to solve for h, the approximate height of the building:

  • Similar triangles have proportional sides.

Thus, we have:

pole height / building height = length of pole's shadow / length of building's

Now we can substitute 2.5 for the pole height, 1.65 for the pole shadow length, and 38.25 for the building shadow length.

(2.5/h = 1.65/38.25) * h

(2.5 = (1.65/38.25)h) / (1.65/38.25)

2.5 / (1.65/38.25) = h

57.95454545 = h

58 = h

Thus, the building is about 58 m tall.

User Wfgeo
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