The portion of the fabric that is laying across the ground is 2 meters. The portion of the fabric from the ground to the highest point (along the fabric's edge) is 1.5 meters, half of that is 0.75 meters and this is the length of the shadow. We can see this by forming a 30-60-90 triangle. The hypotenuse is 1.5 meters, the short leg is 0.75 meters. The short leg is always half of the hypotenuse of any 30-60-90 triangle, and the short leg is opposite the 30 degree angle.
So this shadow has length of 2 meters and 0.75 meters, making its area be 0.75*2 = 1.5 square meters when the sun is directly overhead at 12 noon
