Question

a radio tower that is 60 meters tall casts a shadow 32 meters long. if a nearby fir tree is 45 meters tall, how long will the fir trees shadow be? write your answer as a whole number or a decimal. do not round. meters

Explanation:

Step1: Set up the proportion

Since the height of an object and the length of its shadow are in proportion, we have $\frac{\text{height of radio tower}}{\text{length of radio tower's shadow}}=\frac{\text{height of fir tree}}{\text{length of fir tree's shadow}}$. Let $x$ be the length of the fir tree's shadow. So, $\frac{60}{32}=\frac{45}{x}$.

Step2: Cross - multiply

Cross - multiplying gives us $60x = 32\times45$.

Step3: Solve for $x$

First, calculate $32\times45=1440$. Then, $x=\frac{1440}{60}$.

Answer:

$24$