Given that a mirror is used, then the angle formed between the tree's height and the ground, and Salma's height and the ground are congruent. In consequence, the triangles formed are similar. This means that the corresponding sides of both triangles are proportional, that is,
[tex]\frac{\text{ tre}e^{\prime}s\text{ height}}{dis\tan ce\text{ from the mirror to the tre}e}=\frac{\text{ Salma}^{\prime}s\text{ height}}{dis\tan ce\text{ from the mirror to Salma}}[/tex]
Substituting with the measures of the diagram:
[tex]\begin{gathered} \frac{\text{ tre}e^{\prime}s\text{ height}}{38}=\frac{5}{12.2} \\ 38\cdot\frac{\text{ tre}e^{\prime}s\text{ height}}{38}=38\cdot\frac{5}{12.2} \\ tree^{\prime}s\text{ height }\approx\text{ }16\text{ ft} \end{gathered}[/tex]
