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.