College

Howard has a scale model of the Statue of Liberty.

- The model is 15 inches tall.
- The scale of the model to the actual statue is 1 inch : 6.2 meters.

Which equation can Howard use to determine [tex]x[/tex], the height in meters, of the Statue of Liberty?

A. [tex]15x = 6.2[/tex]

B. [tex]6.2x = 15[/tex]

C. [tex]\frac{1}{6.2} = \frac{x}{15}[/tex]

D. [tex]\frac{1}{6.2} = \frac{15}{x}[/tex]

Answer :

To determine the height in meters of the actual Statue of Liberty using the scale model information, we can set up the problem as follows:

1. Understand the scale: The scale is given as 1 inch on the model corresponds to 6.2 meters in real life.

2. Model height: The model of the Statue of Liberty is 15 inches tall.

3. Set up the proportion: According to the scale, [tex]\( \frac{\text{model height in inches}}{1 \text{ inch}} = \frac{\text{actual height in meters}}{6.2 \text{ meters}} \)[/tex].

Given that the model height is 15 inches, substitute into the proportion:
[tex]\[
\frac{15}{1} = \frac{x}{6.2}
\][/tex]

4. Solve for [tex]\( x \)[/tex]: Multiply both sides by 6.2 to isolate [tex]\( x \)[/tex]:
[tex]\[
15 \times 6.2 = x
\][/tex]

5. Result: Solve the equation to find [tex]\( x \)[/tex], giving us the height of the actual Statue of Liberty in meters.

Therefore, the correct equation Howard can use is (A) [tex]\( 15 \times x = 6.2 \)[/tex].

The height of the actual Statue of Liberty is found to be approximately 0.41 meters, when [tex]\( x \)[/tex] is solved.