Describe how to estimate the heights of people with each stride:  

a.1.50 meter  

b. 0.90 meters  

c. 1.10 meters

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2 Answers

If we take leg length to be approximately a half of the height (in an adult), and if we take maximum stride to be the distance between the feet when both legs are extended in opposite directions, with an approximate right-angle between the legs, then we can work out mathematically what the relationship is between stride and height.

Let h=height, then leg length is h/2. So we have a right-angled isosceles triangle, the third side is the stride, s, and is the hypotenuse, s=sqrt((h/2)^2+(h/2)^2)=h/sqrt(2)=hsqrt(2)/2=0.71h approx. so h=ssqrt(2). Using this rule of thumb:

a) h=1.5sqrt(2)=2.12m

b) h=0.9sqrt(2)=1.27m

c) h=1.1sqrt(2)=1.56m

Note that if we had an equilateral triangle formed by the legs and the stride, the stride would be h/2 and a 1.5m stride would imply a height of 3m, which is about 10 feet, a little tall for a human being!

If the angle between the leg and the ground is x h=ssec(x). When x=45 degrees we get the answers above. If x>45, the height will be taller for the same length of stride; if x<45 the height will be less.

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