Question

a street light bulb is fixed on a pole 12 m above the level of street. If woman of height 1.5m casts a shadow of 4.5m, find how far is she away from the base of the pole

Answer 1

Answer:

31.5m

Step-by-step explanation:

*See attachment

Define x:

Let the length from the foot of the street light to the women be x

By property of similar triangle:

1.5/12 = 4.5/(x + 4.5)

Cross multiply:

1.5(x + 4.5) = 12(4.5)

Distribute 1.5 and 12:

1.5x + 6.75 = 54

Subtract 6.75 from both sides:

1.5x = 47.25

Divide both sides by 1.5:

x = 31.5 m

Answer: The woman is 31.5 m away from the pole

Answer 2

Given:

Height ( pole ) = 12 m

Height ( woman ) = 1.5 m

Shadow = 4.5 m

To find:

The distance from the base.

Solution:

By triangle property,

Height ( woman ) / Height ( pole) = Shadow / ( Distance + shadow )

Substituting,

We get,

1.5 / 12 = 4.5 / ( distance + 4.5 )

1.5 ( distance + 4.5 ) = 12( 4.5 )

1.5 * distance + 6.75 = 54

1.5 * distance = 47.25

Distance = 31.5 m