Shadow Length A man 6 feet tall walks at a rate of 5 feet per second toward a streetlight that is 30 feet high (see figure). The man’s 3-foot-tall child follows at the same speed, but 10 feet behind the man. The shadow behind the child is caused by the man at some times and by the child at other times.
(a) Suppose the man is 90 feet from the streetlight. Show that the man’s shadow extends beyond the child’s shadow.
(b) Suppose the man is 60 feet from the streetlight. Show that the child’s shadow extends beyond the man’s shadow.
(c) Determine the distance d from the man to the streetlight at which the tips of the two shadows are exactly the same distance from the streetlight.
(d) Determine how fast the tip of the man’s shadow is moving as a function of x, the distance between the man and the streetlight. Discuss the continuity of this shadow speed function.
