Math question!
Mar. 30th, 2004 11:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
batskeetsThis is James' question, actually, but I don't remember how to do it, either, so here it is:
A street light is mounted at the top of a 15-foot-tall pole. A man 6 ft. tall walks away from the pole with a speed of 5 ft/second along a straight path. How fast is the tip of his shadow moving when he is 40 ft from the pole?
James knows how to do it with partial derivatives, but he needs a reminder of how to do it with dx/dt and dy/dt. And as your teachers always say, show your work! (if you can)
I have no idea if any of you guys know this, but if'n you do, shout out! :) Thaaaank you!
EDIT: Never mind--he woke up today, and the realization of how to do the problem struck him about 10 minutes after being awake. (and this was, of course, after I suggested last night that he get some sleep and try it in the morning when his mind was fresh--I may not recall my calculus so well, but I still give some sensible advice!)
A street light is mounted at the top of a 15-foot-tall pole. A man 6 ft. tall walks away from the pole with a speed of 5 ft/second along a straight path. How fast is the tip of his shadow moving when he is 40 ft from the pole?
James knows how to do it with partial derivatives, but he needs a reminder of how to do it with dx/dt and dy/dt. And as your teachers always say, show your work! (if you can)
I have no idea if any of you guys know this, but if'n you do, shout out! :) Thaaaank you!
EDIT: Never mind--he woke up today, and the realization of how to do the problem struck him about 10 minutes after being awake. (and this was, of course, after I suggested last night that he get some sleep and try it in the morning when his mind was fresh--I may not recall my calculus so well, but I still give some sensible advice!)
