Michele wanted to measure the height of her school’s flagpole. She placed a mirror on the ground 48 feet from the flagpole, then walked backwards until she was able to see the top of the pole in the mirror. Her eyes were 5 feet above the ground and she was 12 feet from the mirror. Using similar triangles, find the height of the flagpole to the nearest tenth of a foot.
height of the flagpole = x
distance from flagpole to the mirror = 48 ft
height of Michele = 5 ft
distance from Michele to the mirror = 12 ft
Now, set the proportion.
x/48 = 5/12
48 x/48 = 5/12 48
x = 240/12
x = 20
So, the height of the flagpole is 20 ft.
HOPE THIS HELPS!!!!
Answer:
20 ft.
Step-by-step explanation:
\(\frac{x ft}{48 ft} = \frac{5 ft}{12 ft} \\\)
Cross multiply.
\(12x = (5 ft) (48 ft)\)
\(12x = 240\\\)
Solve for the variable.
\(x = 20 ft\)