Miguel is 5 feet 10 inches tall. On a sunny day he casts a shadow 4 feet 2 inches long. At the same time, a nearby electric tower casts a shadow 8 feet 9 inches long. How tall is the tower?
How do I set this up into ratios to figure out the tower height?
If you are April, I did this for you
http://www.jiskha.com/display.cgi?id=1421375385
I'm not april, but thanks though
To set up the problem using ratios, we will compare the height of Miguel to the length of his shadow, and then compare the height of the electric tower to the length of its shadow.
Let's start by converting the heights and lengths into inches.
Miguel's height: 5 feet 10 inches = (5 * 12) + 10 = 70 inches
Miguel's shadow length: 4 feet 2 inches = (4 * 12) + 2 = 50 inches
Electric tower's shadow length: 8 feet 9 inches = (8 * 12) + 9 = 105 inches
Now, we can set up the ratio equation:
Miguel's height / Miguel's shadow length = Electric tower's height / Electric tower's shadow length
Plugging in the values:
70 inches / 50 inches = Electric tower's height / 105 inches
To solve for the height of the electric tower, we can cross-multiply and then divide:
70 inches * 105 inches = Electrical tower's height * 50 inches
7350 inchesĀ² = Electrical tower's height * 50 inches
Electrical tower's height = 7350 inchesĀ² / 50 inches
Electric tower's height = 147 inches
Therefore, the height of the electric tower is 147 inches.