Use similar triangles to help solve the problem.
An airplane ascends 160 feet as it flies a horizontal distance of 1,000 feet. How much altitude will it gain as it flies a horizontal distance of 1 mile? ( Hint: 5,280 feet = 1 mile.) Round your answer to the nearest integer.
A) $x = 870$ ft
B) $x = 813$ ft
C) $x = 845$ ft
D) $x = 885$ ft
E) $x = 833$ ft

Question

Use similar triangles to help solve the problem.
An airplane ascends 160 feet as it flies a horizontal distance of 1,000 feet. How much altitude will it gain as it flies a horizontal distance of 1 mile? ( Hint: 5,280 feet = 1 mile.) Round your answer to the nearest integer. 
A) $x = 870$ ft 
B) $x = 813$ ft 
C) $x = 845$ ft 
D) $x = 885$ ft 
E) $x = 833$ ft

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

We can use similar triangles to solve the problem. The vertical height gained by the airplane is to the horizontal distance traveled as the vertical height to be gained is to the horizontal distance of 1 mile.

Let x be the altitude gained as the airplane travels 1 mile. Then, we have the proportion:

$\frac{160}{1000} = \frac{x}{5280}$

Cross-multiplying, we get:

$160 \cdot 5280 = 1000 \cdot x$

Solving for x, we get:

$x = \frac{160 \cdot 5280}{1000} = 844.8 \approx 845$

Therefore, the best choice is C) $x = 845$ ft, rounded to the nearest integer.

Use Similar Triangles to Help Solve the Problem x=870x = 870x=870

Use Similar Triangles to Help Solve the Problem $x = 870$