At the same time a 5 foot person cast a 2 foot shadow, a nearby flagpole cast a 10 foot shadow. How tall is the flagpole?
5/2=x/10
cross multiplication
2x= 50
x=25
To find out the height of the flagpole, we can set up a proportion using the information given. A proportion is an equation that states that two ratios are equal. In this case, we can compare the ratio of the height of the person to the length of their shadow with the ratio of the height of the flagpole to the length of its shadow.
Let's assign variables to represent the unknowns:
Let's say h is the height of the flagpole.
Since the height of the person is given as 5 feet and their shadow is given as 2 feet, we can write the first ratio as:
Person's height / Person's shadow = 5 / 2
Similarly, the second ratio can be written as:
Flagpole's height / Flagpole's shadow = h / 10
Now, we can set up the proportion:
5 / 2 = h / 10
To find the value of h, we can cross-multiply and solve for h:
5 * 10 = 2 * h
50 = 2h
Dividing both sides by 2:
h = 50 / 2
h = 25
Therefore, the height of the flagpole is 25 feet.
5/2 = x/10
Cross multiply and solve for x.