Question

A tiny statue of Tom Brady is 2 8/15 inches tall If the statue uses a scale of 1 inch 2.5 feet, what is Tom Brady's actual height?

Answer 1

`6` feet and `4` inches

Explanation:

First, we can set up a proportion.

`(2 8/15 color(white)i "in")/ (color(red)x color(white)i "ft") = (1 color(white)i "in") / (2.5 color(white)i "ft")`

Now we can cross-multiply and solve for `color(red)x`.

`2 8/15 * 2.5 = 1 color(red)x`

`38/15 * 2.5 = color(red)x` `->` rewrite the mixed number as an improper fraction

`38/15 * 5/2 = color(red)x` `->`rewrite the decimal as an improper fraction

`cancel38^19/cancel15^3 * cancel5^1/cancel2^1 = color(red)x` `->` cancel

`color(red)x = 19/3`

`color(red)x = 6 1/3` `->`rewrite improper fraction as a mixed number

Tom Brady's height is `6 1/3 color(white)i "ft"`, but it would make more sense to write his height using feet and inches.

`1/3` of `1 color(white)i "ft" = 1/3 * 12 color(white)i "in" = 4 color(white)i "in"`

So, Brady's actual height is `6' 4''` or `6` feet and `4` inches.