A surveyor needs to determine the height of a tree. She places a mirror on the ground and paces backwards until she sees the top of the tree reflected in the mirror. She marks where she is standing and then measures the distance from this spot to the mirror which is 11 feet. She then measures the distance from the mirror to the base of the tree which is 95 feet. The surveyor's height is 54 inches from the ground to her eyes. How tall is the tree (in feet) assuming level ground from the surveyor's spot to the mirror and from the mirror to the tree?

Question

wolf1728 · Answer

Assuming the triangles are similar
95 ft / 11 Ft = h / 4.5
(95 * 4.5) / 11 = h
height = 38.9 Feet