Question

Gilligan sees a ship coming close to the shore he's standing on. He wants to determine the distance (SD) from the ship to the shore. He walks 130 ft along the shore from point D to point C and marks that spot. Then he walks 23 ft further and marks point B. He turns 90°and walks until his location (point A), point C, and point S are collinear. Answer the following questions making sure to show all your work. (a) Can Gilligan conclude that triangle ABC and triangle SDC are similar? Why or why not? (b) Suppose AB = 90 ft. What can Gilligan conclude about the distance of the ship from the shore? Explain.

Answer 1

Answer:

A) Gilligan can conclude that triangle ABC and triangle SDC are similar.

B) He can conclude that the distance is longer than the hypotenuses of the triangles.

Step-by-step explanation:

A) This is because they are the same shape and have proportionate sizes.

B) This is because if AB = 90 feet, he knows that the distance will be about the same length as the hypotenuses of the triangles.