Question

a clock tower is 16 meters tall. close by, there is a flagpole that is 12 meters tall. if the clock towers shadow is 12 meters long, how long is the flagpoles shadow?
write your answer as a whole number or a decimal. do not round.
______ meters

Explanation:

Step1: Set up proportion

Let $x$ = flagpole's shadow length.
$\frac{\text{Clock tower height}}{\text{Clock tower shadow}} = \frac{\text{Flagpole height}}{\text{Flagpole shadow}}$
$\frac{16}{12} = \frac{12}{x}$

Step2: Cross-multiply to solve for $x$

$16x = 12 \times 12$
$16x = 144$

Step3: Isolate $x$

$x = \frac{144}{16}$
$x = 9$

Answer:

9 meters