Question

Use the dchnition of similarity to solve the following problem.

Sheila is standing near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. The shadow of the monument is 580 feet long, and Sheila's shadow is 3fections. If Shells 5-
feet 6 inches tall, how tall is the monument?
5 ft 6 in
580 ft
3 ft

Answer 1

1063 ft

Explanation:

For shadow problems, we assume the sun's rays are parallel, so the triangles formed are similar. That means the ratio of height to shadow length is the same for each object.

h/(580 ft) = (5.5 ft)/(3 ft)

h = (5.5 ft)(580/3) ≈ 1063 ft

The height of the monument is about 1063 feet.