Question

To find the height of a lamppost at a park, rachel placed a mirror on the ground 20 feet from the base of the lamppost. she then stepped back 4 feet so that she could see the top of the lamp post in the center of the mirror. rachel's eyes are 5 feet 6 inches above the ground. what is the height, in feet, of the lamppost?

Answer 1

Answer:

The height of the lamp post is 27.5 feet.

Solution:

Given: Rachel placed a mirror on the ground 20 feet from the base of the lamppost to find the height of the lamppost  

She stepped back 4 feet to see the top of the lamppost

To find: The height of the lamp post

So from the given set of statements in the problem, to find the height we have to find tan x where x is the height  

tanx= (5 feet 6 inches)/4 feet

Where x = height which we have to find

Therefore tanx=5.6/4

tan 53.97=x/20

x=27.5