Question

(5 points) A street light is at the top of a 18 ft pole. A 5 ft tall girl walks along a straight path

Answer 1

Answer:

2.31 ft/sec

Step-by-step explanation:

In the picture attached, a representation of the problem is shown, where w(t) is the walking distance (as a function of time) and s(t) is the position of the tip of her shadow (as a function of time).

We want to find the derivative of s(t).

From triangles similarity:

s(t)/5 = [w(t) + s(t)]/18

18s(t) = 5w(t) + 5s(t)

13s(t) = 5w(t)

w(t) = 13/5*s(t)

We know that her speed is 6 ft/sec, that is:

d(w(t))/dt = 6 ft/sec

From the previous relationship:

d(w(t))/dt = 13/5*d(s(t))/t

Replacing:

6 = 13/5*d(s(t))/t

d(s(t))/t = 5*6/13

d(s(t))/t ≈ 2.31 ft/sec