A telephone pole casts a shadow 16 feet long at the same time that a man 6 feet tall casts a shadow of 2.4 feet. How tall is the pole?

solve the simple ratio

h/16 = 6/2.4
h = 16(6)/2.4 = ...

To find the height of the telephone pole, we can use a proportion.

We have two ratios - the height of the telephone pole to its shadow length, and the height of the man to his shadow length. We can set up the proportion as follows:

(height of the pole) / (length of its shadow) = (height of the man) / (length of his shadow)

Let's substitute the given values into the equation:

(x) / (16 feet) = (6 feet) / (2.4 feet)

To solve for x, we can cross-multiply and then divide:

2.4x = 6 * 16

2.4x = 96

x = 96 / 2.4

x = 40

Therefore, the height of the telephone pole is 40 feet.