At your school, the building is 20 feet tall, a tree's height is 252 inches, and the flagpole is 6 yards high.

Question

Which of the three objects casts the longest shadow?

the building
the tree
not enough information
the flagpole

Answer 1

To determine which of the three objects casts the longest shadow, we need to convert their heights to the same unit. Let's convert everything to feet:

1. Building:
   Height = 20 feet

2. Tree:
   Height = 252 inches
   To convert inches to feet:
   \( \text{Height} = \frac{252}{12} = 21 \text{ feet} \)

3. Flagpole:
   Height = 6 yards
   To convert yards to feet:
   \( \text{Height} = 6 \times 3 = 18 \text{ feet} \)

Now we have the heights in feet:

• Building: 20 feet
• Tree: 21 feet
• Flagpole: 18 feet

Given that the tree is the tallest at 21 feet, it would cast the longest shadow under the same lighting conditions (assuming similar angles of sunlight).

So, the answer is the tree.