A security camera is set up as shown in the diagram below. Michael, who is 5 feet tall, is standing in its view.
the legs are 39 and 25 and 5
What is x, the horizontal distance in feet of the camera?
To find x, we can use the concept of similar triangles. The triangles formed by Michael's height, the distance from Michael to the camera, and the height in the camera's view are similar to the triangles formed by the camera's height, the distance from the camera to Michael, and the height of Michael in the camera's view.
Let's denote the horizontal distance from Michael to the camera as a and the horizontal distance from the camera to Michael as b. We can set up a proportion:
(39 + x) / 5 = 25 / 5
Now, we can solve for x:
39 + x = 25
x = 25 - 39
x = -14
However, a distance cannot be negative, so it seems that Michael is positioned beyond the field of view of the camera. If Michael was not within the field of view of the camera, the camera would not be able to capture footage of him.