A pole has a shadow that is 5 feet long. Jackie's shadow is 3 feet long, and she is 6 feet tall. How tall is the ladder?
Ahh -- it's the pole we want -- not the ladder.
Cross multiply and solve for x.
3/6 = 5/x
What ladder?
A pole has a shadow that is 5 feet long. Jackie's shadow is 3 feet long, and she is 6 feet tall. How tall is the pole?
To find the height of the ladder, we can use the concept of similar triangles. The triangles formed by the pole, its shadow, Jackie, and her shadow are similar since their corresponding angles are equal.
Let's define the variables:
- Height of the pole = H
- Length of the pole's shadow = S
- Height of Jackie = J
- Length of Jackie's shadow = L
From the given information:
S = 5 feet
J = 6 feet
L = 3 feet
We can set up a proportion to find the height of the ladder:
H / S = J / L
Plugging in the values:
H / 5 = 6 / 3
To solve for H, we can cross-multiply and then divide:
H * 3 = 5 * 6
H * 3 = 30
H = 30 / 3
H = 10
Therefore, the ladder is 10 feet tall.