Question

1. everett is 5 ft 10 in. tall and casts a shadow 8 ft 9 in. long. a flag pole next to him casts a shadow of 14 ft. how tall is the flag pole?

Explanation:

Step1: Convert heights and shadows to inches

1 foot = 12 inches. Everett's height: $5\times12 + 10=70$ inches. Everett's shadow: $8\times12 + 9 = 105$ inches. Flag - pole's shadow: $14\times12=168$ inches.

Step2: Set up a proportion

Let the height of the flag - pole be $x$ inches. The proportion is $\frac{70}{105}=\frac{x}{168}$.

Step3: Cross - multiply and solve for $x$

Cross - multiplying gives $105x=70\times168$. Then $x=\frac{70\times168}{105}$.
$70\times168 = 11760$ and $\frac{11760}{105}=112$ inches.

Step4: Convert the height of the flag - pole back to feet and inches

$112\div12 = 9$ feet with a remainder of 4 inches.

Answer:

9 ft 4 in