a meter stick casts a shadow 1.4 m long at the same time a flagpole casts a shadow 7.7 m long. The triangle formed by the meterstick and its shadow is similar to the triangle formed by the flagpole and its shadow. How tall is the flaglole?



Answer :

So a meter stick is just one meter right? Everything else is measured in meters as well. The meter stick's shadow, the flagpole's shadow, they are all in meters. I don't know if they've taught you how to solve for x or not but you are pretty much solving for x. The flagpole, (the measure that you are trying to find) is the x. 
So your problem kind of looks like this:
1/1.4=x/7.7 
Again, I don't know if this will help or not but if it does, than yippie! :)

Answer:

5.5 m

Step-by-step explanation:

Let x be the length of flagpole.

Length of stick=1 m

Length of shadow of stick=1.4 m

Length of shadow of flagpole=7.7 m

According to question

When triangles are similar then their ratio of corresponding sides are equal.

[tex]\frac{1}{1.4}=\frac{x}{7.7}[/tex]

[tex]x=\frac{7.7}{1.4}[/tex]

[tex]x=\frac{77}{14}[/tex]

[tex]x=\frac{11}{2}=5.5[/tex]

Hence, the length of flagpole=5.5 m