Answer:
10.5 feet
Step-by-step explanation:
In this problem, we have two similar triangles:
- One consists of the mailbox, its shadow and the hypothenuse
- The other one consists of the tree, its shadow and the hypothenuse
The two triangles are similar, so they have same proportions between their sides: therefore, we can apply the rule of three:
where
m = 36 in is the height of the mailbox
is the shadow of the mailbox
t is the height of the tree
is the length of the shadow of the tree
Solving for t, we find the height of the tree:
And since
1 feet = 12 inches
The height of the tree in feet is
