Jackson's method to figure out the height of the mountain is from the
similar triangles formed by the light using the mirror.
Response:
The given parameters are;
Distance of the mirror from Jackson = 5 feet
Distance of the mirror from the base of the mountain = 40 feet
Height of Jackson = 6'4'' tall
Required:
The approximate height of the mountain, h
Solution:
The triangles formed by the light from the top of the mountain which is
reflected to Jackson from the mirror, Jackson's height, the height of the
mountain, and their distances from the mirror, are similar triangles.
The ratio of corresponding sides of similar triangles are equal, therefore,
we have;
[tex]\dfrac{Jackson's \ height}{Jackson's \ distance \ from \ the \ mirror } =\mathbf{ \dfrac{Height \ of \ the \ mountain}{Distance \ of \ the \ mountain \ from \ the \ mirror}}[/tex]
Which gives;
[tex]\dfrac{6\frac{1}{3} \, ft.}{5 \, ft.} = \mathbf{ \dfrac{h}{40 \, ft.}}[/tex]
[tex]h = 480 \, in. \times \dfrac{76 \, in.}{60 \, in.} = 608 \, in. = \mathbf{50 \frac{2}{3} \, ft. = 50 \, feet \ 8 \, inches}[/tex]
Learn more about similar triangles here:
https://brainly.com/question/23467926