1

LEARNING
MODULE
MATHEMATIC G9  Q4.4
S

SOLVING
PROBLEMS
INVOLVING
TRIANGLE
SIMILARITY AND
RIGHT
TRIANGLES
GENECOM INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
INC.
GENECOM LEARNING AND TUTORIAL CENTER
LIBON PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL, INC.
MAY 2023

NAME:______________________________SECTION:_______
__
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INTRODUCTION

 Module Introduction
In our previous lesson, you have learned the different concepts and
theorems in triangle similarity including the right triangles.
In this module, you are going to apply what you have learned
previously to solve word problems that involves the triangle similarity and the
right triangles.
 Module Lesson and Coverage

Lesson: Solving Problems Involving Triangle Similarity and Right Triangles

This module is designed for you to:

 Solves problems that involve triangle similarity and right triangles.

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Solve the
problem
and show
your
solutions.
Jerry wants to determine the height of the building. He places a mirror
on the ground 60 meters away from the building so
that he can see the top of the building in the mirror.
Jerry is 2 meters tall and standing 0.5 meter away from the mirror. How tall is
the building?

Solution Box
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Solving Word Problems Involving Similar Triangles

Word Problem: A word problem is a math problem, generally
providing a real-life scenario, which is expressed in
words.

Similar Triangles: Similar triangles are triangles that have the exact
same internal angles, but the triangle has been
rotated or all the side lengths of one triangle
have been scaled smaller or larger by a ratio.

Corresponding: Corresponding sides or angles in similar triangles

are the pair of angles or sides that are similar
between the two triangles.

How to solve these word problems?

Step 1: Create a simple diagram to visually represent the similar
triangles and the context of the problem.

Step 2: Label the diagram with any side lengths given in the word
problem and identify which side length we are trying to
solve for.

Step 3: Label which angles in the similar triangles are

corresponding and note which sides of the triangle are
corresponding to each other.

Step 4: Use a pair of corresponding sides to determine the scaling

ratio between the similar triangles.

Step 5: Use the scaling ratio to calculate the length of the unknown
side.
Now we will look at two examples of word problems involving similar
triangles where we will be determining a side length based on a similar triangle.
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Example 1:
The sun causes a shadow that extends 24 feet from the side of a house that is
16 feet tall. Nearby is a 4 foot tall fence, which also has a shadow. If the sun's rays hit
the house and the fence at the same angle, what is the length of the shadow cast by the
shed?

Step1: Create a simple diagram to visually represent the

similar triangles and the context of the problem.

First, we just want to visually represent the

similar triangles in the problem, which will give us some
context to more easily assign the values given in the word
problem.

Step2: Label the diagram with any side lengths given in

the word problem and identify which side length we are trying to solve for.

We were given the height of the house and the length of the shadow extending
from the house, so we can label those two sides of the red triangle.

We were also given the height of the fence, so we can label that onto the blue
triangle.

We want to find the length of the shadow cast from the fence, so that will be
our unknown side length to be determined.

We were told that the sun's rays hit the

house and the fence at the same angle, so these
angles can also be labeled onto the triangles and
marked with the same number of arcs to indicate
that they are equal.

Incorporating all of that information gives us the following diagram.

Step3: Label which angles in the similar triangles are corresponding and note which
sides of the triangle are corresponding to each other.

We've already labeled in the equal angle for each triangle, so those are our
corresponding angles. We can use this information to identify that the triangles are
already properly oriented such that the vertical sides are similar to each other and the
horizontal sides are similar to each other.
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The 16 foot height of the house and the 4 foot height of the fence are
similar sides of the triangles.

The 24 foot shadow and the unknown length shadow are similar sides of
the triangles.

Step4: Use a pair of corresponding sides to determine the scaling ratio between the
similar triangles.

Since the 16 ft and 4 ft sides are similar, we can use them to determine the
scaling ratio.

Lets express the ratio as house : fence or red triangle : blue triangle, which
16 4
gives us a ratio of . This ratio simplifies to so our
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scaling factor is 4.
The red triangle is 4 times as large as the blue triangle.

Step 5: Use the scaling ratio to calculate the length of the

unknown side.

We now know the red triangle is 4 times as large as

the blue triangle. So if we know the shadow of the house is 24 feet, we can find the
1
shadow of the fence by determining what would be the length of the house shadow.
4
1 24
24× = =6. The fence casts a shadow that extends 6 feet.
4 4
Example 2:

Anna and Kevin both went for a hike in the mountains, and they see a goat up
on the mountain. Anna and Kevin are both looking up at the goat at the same angle,
but Anna is standing 1,200 feet away from the mountain and the goat is 200 feet
above her head. If Kevin is standing 900 feet away from the mountain, how far above
his head is the goat?

Step1: Create a simple diagram to visually represent the similar triangles and the
context of the problem.

Here's a graphic showing Anna and Kevin looking up at the goat on the
mountain.
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Step2: Label the diagram with any side lengths given in the word problem and
identify which side length we are trying to solve for.

We can go ahead and fill in how far Anna and Kevin are both standing from
the mountain, along with how high above Anna's head the goat is. We want to
determine how far above Kevin's head the goat is.

Step3: Label which angles in the similar triangles are corresponding and note
which sides of the triangle are corresponding to each other.

We have our corresponding angles labeled, so we know the sides adjacent to the angle
are similar to each other and the sides opposite of the angle are similar to each other.

900 ft and 1,200 ft from the mountain are corresponding sides, and 200 ft and the
unknown height of the goat are corresponding sides.

Step 4: Use a pair of corresponding sides to determine the scaling ratio between the
similar triangles.

Let's set our scaling ratio up as Anna : Kevin or purple triangle : green triangle. That
gives us:

1200 4
=
900 3
4
The purple triangle is the size of the green triangle.
3
Step 5: Use the scaling ratio to calculate the length of the
unknown side.

4
Since the purple triangle is the side of the green triangle,
3
4
we will divide the known side of 200 ft from the purple triangle by to find the size
3
of the corresponding side on the green triangle.
4 3 600
200÷ =200× = =150
3 4 4
The goat is 150 ft above Kevin's head.
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Solving Word Problems Involving Right Triangles

Example:

Kevin and his scout troop are trying to plan out a lean-to shelter they can build against a tree in
the woods to keep them dry and covered while they sleep. They want to have 10 feet of floor
space between the tree and the base of the lean-to to fit all their sleeping bags. They also want
the lean-to to be 7 feet tall at its highest point so they can stand underneath it. What length of
material do they need to lean against the tree and create a
shelter with the desired dimensions?

Step1: Draw out a simple graphic to represent the word

problem, making sure to include a right triangle.

Let's make a graphic for our world problem. We'll

draw a right triangle and the tree that the lean-to will be
propped on. This will give us some more perspective on the
right triangle we are working with in our word problem and
will make it easier to label the given sides and/or angles
with the context of the problem.

Step2: Label the sides and/or angles of the right triangle that were given in the word problem,
and identify what piece of missing information we hope to find.

The scouts want 10 feet of floor space under the lean-to, so this corresponds to the
length of side a in our diagram.

The scouts want the lean-to to be 7 feet tall, so this corresponds to the length of
side b in our diagram.

We want to find the length needed for the material propped against the tree to
construct the lean-to, so this corresponds to the length of side h in our diagram.

Once we label these values on our diagram, we have the following right triangle.

Step3: Solve for the missing piece of information. If trying to find the length of a side given
the other two sides, use the Pythagorean Theorem. If trying to find the length of a side given an
angle and a side, use trigonometric ratios. If trying to find the angle
between two sides, use trigonometric ratios.

We need to find the length of side h given the length of the

other two sides. We will use the Pythagorean Theorem to do this.

We need to use a 2+ b2=c 2 with a = 10 ft and b = 7 ft.

Our equation becomes 102 +72 =h2 .
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We can
simplify it as
2
100+49+h .
Since we want to
solve for h, we will take the square root of each side of the equation and then find the length of
side h rounded to two decimal places.

h=√ 149=12.21
The length of the material required to create the lean-to with the desired dimensions is
12.21 feet.

Solve the problem and show your solutions.

Two cars start from the same intersection with one traveling southbound
while the other travels eastbound going 10 mph faster. If after two hours they are 10
√ 34 apart, how fast was each car traveling?

Solution Box

Generalization

In this lesson, you have learned the steps in solving word problems that involves the similar
triangles and the right triangles.

Step 1: Create a simple diagram to visually represent the similar triangles and the context of the problem.
Step 2: Label the diagram with any side lengths given in the word problem and identify which side length
we are trying to solve for.