Question

A building with a height of 32 m casts a shadow that is 20 m long. A person standing next to the building casts a shadow that is 1.2 m long. How tall is the person?

Answer 1

Building's actual height 32 meters

Building's shadow height 20 meters

Person's shadow height 1.2 meters

Person's actual height = ?

Find the person's actual height:

This is a proportion problem.

Actual height to shadow height

Building = Person

32 : 20 = x : 1.2

32 * 1.2 = 20 * x

38.4 = 20x

38.4/20 = 20x/20

1.92 = x

The person's actual height is 1.92 meters long.

32 : 20 = 1.92 : 1.2

32/20 = 1.60

1.92/1.2 = 1.60

Explanation: