Michele wanted to measure the height of her school's flagpole. She placed a mirror on the ground 60 ft from the flag pole, then walked backward until she was able to see the top of the pole in the mirror. Her eyes are 5 feet above the ground and she was 12 feet from the mirror. Using similar triangles, find the height of the flag pole to the nearest tenth of a foot.
(1 point)
Responses
20 ft
20 ft
38.4 ft
38.4 ft
55 ft
55 ft
25 ft
38.4 ft
Explanation: The height of the flagpole can be determined by creating similar triangles with the flagpole, the mirror, and Michele. The ratio of the height of the flagpole to the distance from the flagpole to the mirror is equal to the ratio of the height of Michele's eyes to the distance from Michele to the mirror.
Let x represent the height of the flagpole. This can be set up as a proportion:
x/60 = 5/12
Solving for x:
x = (5/12) * 60
x = 25
Therefore, the height of the flagpole is 25 ft.