You are on a jungle expedition and come to a raging river. You need to build a bridge across the river. You spot a tall tree directly across from you on the opposite bank (point ). You place a pole in the ground to mark the position directly across from the tree. From the spot you are standing, you walk directly downstream 16 feet and place another pole (point ). You keep walking down stream and mark a third spot with a pole that is 7 feet from your last pole (point ). Turning perpendicular from the last pole, you walk away from the river 9 feet to another position and place a fourth pole (point ).



a. Determine if the two triangles are similar. Explain which similarity theorem you used and why.
b. Use proportions to calculate the distance across the river.

A large tree is close to point and we could chop it down at an angle to reach point and safely cross the river.

c. How tall does the tree need to be to span the river from point to ?