Myk is 5 feet and 2 inches tall, and their shadow is 84 inches tall. The flagpole next to them has a shadow that is 31 feet long. Myk uses similar triangles to find the height of the flagpole. Can you calculate the height of the flagpole to the nearest foot?(1 point)Responses23 inches23 inches374 feet374 feet17 feet17 feet23 feet23 feet

1 answer

To find the height of the flagpole using the concept of similar triangles, we can set up a proportion based on the heights and lengths of the shadows.

First, let's convert Myk's height to inches:

  • Myk's height = 5 feet 2 inches = (5 * 12) + 2 = 60 + 2 = 62 inches.

Now we can set up the proportion. Let \( h \) be the height of the flagpole in inches.

The corresponding lengths of the shadows are:

  • Myk's shadow = 84 inches,
  • Flagpole's shadow = 31 feet = 31 * 12 = 372 inches.

Using similar triangles, we set up the following proportion:

\[ \frac{\text{Myk's height}}{\text{Myk's shadow}} = \frac{\text{Flagpole's height}}{\text{Flagpole's shadow}} \]

Substituting in the known values:

\[ \frac{62}{84} = \frac{h}{372} \]

Now, we can cross-multiply to solve for \( h \):

\[ 62 \times 372 = 84 \times h \]

Calculating \( 62 \times 372 \):

\[ 62 \times 372 = 23064 \]

So, we have:

\[ 23064 = 84h \]

Now divide both sides by 84 to solve for \( h \):

\[ h = \frac{23064}{84} \approx 274.43 \text{ inches} \]

To convert inches to feet:

\[ h \text{ in feet} = \frac{274.43}{12} \approx 22.87 \text{ feet} \]

Rounding this to the nearest foot, we get approximately:

\[ \text{Height of the flagpole} \approx 23 \text{ feet} \]

Therefore, the height of the flagpole is 23 feet.