A tree casts a shadow of 20 feet at the time when a 2-foot tall child casts a shadow of 1.2 feet. What is the heght of the tree?
Let's assume that the height of the tree is x feet.
According to the given information, when the height of the child is 2 feet, the length of its shadow is 1.2 feet.
We can set up a proportion to solve for the height of the tree:
(height of tree) / (length of shadow of tree) = (height of child) / (length of shadow of child)
x / 20 = 2 / 1.2
Cross-multiplying, we get:
1.2x = 40
Dividing both sides by 1.2:
x = 40 / 1.2
x = 33.33 feet
Therefore, the height of the tree is approximately 33.33 feet.