Question

A person who is six feet tall casts a 3-foot-long shadow. A nearby pine tree casts a 15-foot-long shadow.What is the height hh of the pine tree?

Answer 1

person is 6 feet tall, shadow is 3 feet long

6/3 = 2

pine tree shadow is 15 feet

 15 *2 = 30

 tree is 30 feet tall

Answer 2

Hello! To solve this problem, we can write out and solve a proportion. Set it up like this: 6/3 = x/15. We’re looking for the height of the pine tree, but we know the length of the shadows, so they line up with one another and “x” goes at the top. Let’s cross multiply the values to get 90 = 3x. Now, divide each side by 3 to isolate the “x”. 90/3 is 3. x = 30. The pine tree is 30 feet tall.