An elm tree casts a shadow that is 15 feet long. A wooden column near the elm tree casts a shadow that is 30 feet long. If the elm tree is 8 feet tall, how tall is the wooden column? Write your answer as a whole number or a decimal. Do not round.

To find the height of the wooden column, we can set up a proportion based on the lengths of the shadows and the heights of the objects. The ratio of the height of the elm tree to the length of its shadow is the same as the ratio of the height of the wooden column to the length of its shadow: \[ \frac{\text{Height of elm tree}}{\text{Shadow of elm tree}} = \frac{\text{Height of wooden column}}{\text{Shadow of wooden column}} \] Plugging in the values we know: \[ \frac{8 \text{ ft}}{15 \text{ ft}} = \frac{h}{30 \text{ ft}} \] To solve for \( h \) (the height of the wooden column), we can cross-multiply: \[ 8 \times 30 = 15 \times h \] This simplifies to: \[ 240 = 15h \] Now divide both sides by 15 to find \( h \): \[ h = \frac{240}{15} = 16 \] Thus, the wooden column is **16 feet tall**.