Question
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How high is a tree that casts a 21 -ft shadow at the same time a 5 -ft post casts a shadow which is 10 -ft long?
The trees height is ft.
(Round to the nearest tenth, if necessary.)

Ask by Ross Potter. in the United States
Mar 29,2025

Upstudy AI Solution

Tutor-Verified Answer

Answer

The tree is 10.5 feet tall.

Solution

We set up a proportion using similar triangles. The ratio of the post’s height to its shadow length is the same as the ratio of the tree’s height to its shadow length. Let be the height of the tree. Then:
Simplify the right-hand side:
Now, solve for by multiplying both sides of the equation by 21:
The tree’s height is ft.

Answered by UpStudy AI and reviewed by a Professional Tutor

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Simplify this solution

Mind Expander

To find the height of the tree, you can use the concept of similar triangles. Since the shadows and the heights of the objects (the post and the tree) are in the same ratio, you can set up a proportion.
Here’s how it works:
Let be the height of the tree. The equation would look like this:
Cross multiplying gives us:
Now, solve for :
Thus, the height of the tree is ft.
To the nearest tenth, the tree’s height is ft.

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