Question

ted is 4ft froma lamppost that is 12 ft high. tim is 5.5 ft tall. how long is tims shadow?

Answer 1

This problem gives you one big triangle with a smaller triangle inside. The big triangle is made up of the lamppost (height = 12), and the ground out to the end of the shadow (length = 4 + x, where x is the length of the shadow). The smaller triangle is nested, and is made up of ted (height = 5.5) and the shadow (length = x). Now we know that the ratio of the sides of the triangles must be the same, since they are separated by the same angle. In other words, 12/(4+x) must be the same as 5.5/x, then you can solve for x!