A billboard is 12 meters tall and its shadow is 16 meters long. A nearby totem pole is 9 meters tall. How long is the totem pole's shadow? Write your answer as a whole number or a decimal. Do not round. meters

To find the length of the totem pole's shadow, we can use similar triangles, where the height of the objects and their respective shadows create proportional relationships. For the billboard, the height (12 meters) to its shadow (16 meters) gives us a ratio of 12/16. For the totem pole, which is 9 meters tall, we can set up the equation: \( \frac{12}{16} = \frac{9}{x} \), where \( x \) is the length of the totem pole's shadow. Cross-multiplying gives us: \( 12x = 9 \times 16 \) \( 12x = 144 \) Now divide both sides by 12: \( x = 12 \). So, the length of the totem pole's shadow is 12 meters.