How can I determine the height of a tall tree?

Question

Without climbing the tall, dead tree, what Boy Scout tricks can I use to determine its approx. height?

Answer 1

Find a stick that you can pound into the ground. Place the stick in the ground so that the tree and the stick will make a shadow in the same direction. Measure the shadow of each. Measure the stick(part out of the ground) Make a ratio.

stick to its shadow is = tree called X to its shadow

if stick is 3 feet and the shadow is 2 feet, and the shadow of the tree is 20 feet
3/2=X/20 solve for X

Answer 2

Several options (from an old Scout):

1. Stand a bit away from the tree and hold up a pencil or stick in front of youposition the stick so the top of the stick is lined up with the top of the tree, and your are pinching the stick at its base.

Now, rotate the stick 90 degrees so it is laying on its side and position it so it looks like your fingers are touching the base of the tree and the stick is sticking out parallel to the groud. Have someone stand beside the tree where the tip of the stick is aiming.

Measure from the base to the marker, and that will be the tree height.

2. Find the height of something near the tree- such as another person standing there, then back off so you can see the top of the tree easily.

Use a yardstick to see how tall the known item appears- lets say it is 5' (the 'multiplier')and it appears to be 2" on the stick (the 'base unit') [HINT- move back or forth to try to get the 'base unit to be an easy to work with number!) Now- measure the tree with the yardstick. Let's say it appears to be 12.5" tall.

12.5" equals 6.25 of our 'base units'. Multiply how many 'base units' by the 'multiplier' to get the finral height of 6.25 x 5' equals 30.125, or 30 1/8' or about 30', 1.5"

3. Shadows: Find something 5' long (cut off pole, 2 yardsticks taped together to make 5', whatever. Stand this up near the tree. Mark the shadow height for the tree and the pole. Measure both.

Let's say the pole shadow is 2' long. Every 2' worth of tree shadow means the tree is 5' tall. If the tree's shadow is 11 feet long, the tree is about 52 1/2 feet tall.

4. The way most of the Scouts I knew would have done it: Send a young, dumb Scout up the tree with a long tape measure...

Answer 3

Stand far enough away from the tree so that the top tip is at a 45 degree angle to your line of sight. Then measure the distance on the ground, from you to the tree, that will be the same as the height.

Actually, you should continue the line of sight from the tip to your eye, then behind you to the ground. And the ground should be flat and level.

You can use other angles also, but then you will have to use trigonometry formulas.

Answer 4

1. lets say the height of the tree is T
2. you need to know the distance (D) to the tree for example D = 100 feet (you can easily measure that)
3. then you can compare 2 similar triangles for example: if when you put your hand straight in front of you and you measure with your thumb and index finger that the tree looks F = 3 inches high, and say the length of your hand is H = 2 feet
4. then T : F = D : H

Answer 5

For starters, this question shoudn't be in the physics sub-area. Dist. between timber = one hundred twenty 5 ft Ht. of small tree = 17 ft guy's dist from small tree = 25 ft guy's top = 5 ft enable x be large tree's top up and above the guy's top Then through similarity of two triangles, x/(17-5) = (one hundred twenty 5+25)/25 => x= seventy 2 ft Tree's fairly top = seventy 2 + 5 = seventy seven ft