A 40 foot tree casts a shadow. The distance from the top of the tree to the tip of the shadow is 41 feet. How long of a shadow did the tree cast?

Question

Mathematics

Madalyn Baxter

27 June, 05:57

A 40 foot tree casts a shadow. The distance from the top of the tree to the tip of the shadow is 41 feet. How long of a shadow did the tree cast?

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Jackson Houston · Answer 1

Let s represent the length of the shadow. By the Pythagorean theorem,

... s^2 + 40^2 = 41^2

... s^2 = 1681 - 1600 = 81

... s = 9

The length of the shadow is 9 feet.