a 12ft building casts a shadow. The distance from the top of the building to the tip of the shadow is 19ft. Find the length of the shadow.

Answer 1

This forms a right triangle -- so let's use the Pythagorean Theorem.

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

12^2 + b^2 = 19^2

144 + b^2 = 361

b^2 = 217

b = 14.7 ft.