Question

At a certain time of day, a 5.5 foot tall man has a 6 foot shadow. If a tree is 19.25 feet tall, what is the length of the shadow of the tree?

Answer 1

5.5:6 :: 19.25:x A proiportion. The product of the extremes (the outside pair) is equal to the product of the means (the middle pair) In math-speak:
5.5x = (6)(19.25)

Solve for x as that is the shadow length of the man.

Answer 2

5.5 is to 6 as 19.25 is to x, x is the unknown man's shadow length.