Question

Hoover Dam on the Colorado River casts a shadow that is 2,904 feet long. At the same time, an 18-foot-tall flagpole next to the dam casts a shadow that is 72 feet long. How tall is the Hoover Dam?

Answer 1

Answer:

  726 feet

Step-by-step explanation:

Object height and shadow length are proportional, so you have ...

  (object height)/(shadow length) = (18 ft)/(72 ft) = (dam height)/(2904 ft)

Then the dam height is ...

  dam height = (2904 ft)(18/72) = 726 ft

Hoover Dam is 726 feet high.

Answer 2

In 1905 the Colorado River flooded parts of Nevada. It ruined crops, roads, and buildings. Water covered the land for an entire year. To stop the flooding, the construction of the Hoover Dam began. The dam controlled the river and brought water to the cities. It was completed in 1935. It took 5,000 workers and 5 years to build. Hoover Dam is 1,244 feet long and 726 feet high.