The problem states that both buildings are built at the same
elevation and are perpendicular to the ground, and that both
telescopes are level with the bases of the buildings and pointed
at angles of 45° to the tops of the buildings. This means that
similar 45/45/90 right triangles are created because the third
angle in each triangle can only be 45°. A ratio can be set up to
determine the height of building B based on the height of
building A and the distance from the bases of the buildings to
their respective telescopes. Note that the telescopes are 100 ft
above sea level and subtract that amount from the height of the
top of building A to get its actual height. Let b represent the
height of building B in feet:
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The height of building B is 1,200 feet. This is more than the
height of building A (1,000) so the answer is b.
Note: It is not necessary to solve for b because it is evident that
b > 1,000 from looking at the proportion.