We want to solve for the length of the shadow in this problem.
Well, what do we know?
- Length of hypotenuse
- Length of one leg
- 90 degree angle
We can solve this two ways, the Pythagorean Theorem or a trig function. The Pythagorean Theorem is simpler, so let's use that.
[tex]A^2 + B^2 = C^2[/tex]
where C is the hypotenuse.
[tex]A^2 + 30^2 = 36^2\\A^2 = 36^2 - 30^2\\A^2 = 396\\\sqrt[]{396} = A\\ A = 19.89[/tex]
