Problem Statement:
We had to find the height of the flagpole, but we didn't have a very large ruler to measure the height, we had to find three methods to know the height the first method was the shadow method, mirror method and clinometer method. With these we were able to find the height of the Flagpole.
Process & Solution:
I thought that when measuring a person and taking a photo of the flagpole we could see how many times the person could fit one in top of the other and then adding that times how many times the person fitted I was going to multiply it and depending on how much the person measured it would give me the height of the flagpole.
Similarity:
Similarity is two or several things that look alike or are exactly the same but still look different.
Shadow Method:
In order to find the height of the flagpole by using the shadow method, as a group we started off by comparing our height with our own shadow, then I measured the shadow of the flagpole to compare my height with the flagpole, but since I didn't have the height of the flagpole I had to see how much difference was there between my height which is 5,1 and my shadow which is 4,0 , then I would multiply my height times the flagpoles shadow which was 19,7 and then divide that times my shadow and that would give us the height which in my case was 25ft. This two triangles were similar because both of the angles were the same which the theorem is AA.
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Mirror Method:
To explain the mirror method you need two objects and a mirror in the middle, if you know the distance between the object and the mirror it has to reflect the same distance which makes them both have the same angle. This two triangles were similar because both of the angles were the same, the mirror reflects an equal angle and since I am standing and so is the flagpole at 90 degrees the theorem that best applies is AA .
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Clinometer Method:
The clinometer method was a different method because by forming a 45 degree angle the triangle was formed to be isosceles. Looking for the straw we had to be at 45 degrees because the angle of the flagpole was 90 which means that the other angles have to be 45 to complete the 180. Therefore we prove that this method of calculating is very accurate. The flagpole height was 293 in, by measuring the distance between me and the base which was 236in and adding that to the distance from my eyes to the ground which was 57in.
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Problem Evaluation:
This problem was one of the most complex and entertaining to do because each method was similar but had its differences, this problem pushed me to want to solve and understand every problem of how entertaining they were. What I got more out of this problem was how to compare which figures are similar and why.
Self Evaluation:
I would say between 1-10 My grade could be an 8.5 because I really enjoyed this problem and I was attentive most of the time but I didn't really try to ask questions when i had so that would of helped a lot to understand some of the points.