Question

If a 30-foot silo casts a 20-foot shadow, what is the approximate measure from the tip of the shadow to the top of the silo?

650 feet
1,300 feet
36 feet
13 feet

Answer 1

Sketch a right triangle with vertical leg 30 and horizontal leg 20. By the Pythagorean theorem the hypotenuse is

sqrt(30^2 + 20^2) = sqrt(900 + 400) = sqrt(1300) ≈ 36.06.

So the approximate measure is 36 feet.