Question Joseph is 1.75 meters tall. At \( 11 \mathrm{a} . \mathrm{m} \). ., he measures the length of a tree's shadow to be 34.05 meters. He stands 29.7 meters away from the tree, so that the tip of his shadow meets the tip of the tree's shadow. Find the height of the tree to the nearest hundredth of a meter.
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To find the height of the tree using similar triangles, we can set up a proportion. The height of Joseph (1.75 meters) and the length of his shadow (the distance he stands away from the tree, 29.7 meters) forms a triangle similar to the triangle formed by the height of the tree (let's call it \( h \)) and the length of the tree's shadow (34.05 meters). Using the proportion, we have: \[ \frac{h}{34.05} = \frac{1.75}{29.7} \] Cross-multiplying gives: \[ h \cdot 29.7 = 1.75 \cdot 34.05 \] Calculating the right side: \[ 1.75 \cdot 34.05 = 59.8125 \] Now, solving for \( h \): \[ h = \frac{59.8125}{29.7} \approx 2.01 \] Thus, the height of the tree is approximately **2.01 meters**. Pro Tip: Whenever you're working with shadow lengths and heights, using similar triangles can make the math much easier – it's like magic, except it's geometry! Just remember to set up your ratios correctly.