Q. An airplane takes off 200 yards in front of a 180 yard building.Find the angle of elevation for the plane so it does not hit the building.
Triangle Consideration: To find the angle of elevation, we need to consider the airplane's takeoff point and the height of the building as a right-angled triangle. The distance from the airplane's takeoff point to the building is the adjacent side of the triangle, and the height of the building is the opposite side. We can use the tangent function, which is the ratio of the opposite side to the adjacent side in a right-angled triangle, to find the angle of elevation.
Tangent Function Application: The tangent of the angle of elevation θ is equal to the height of the building (opposite side) divided by the distance from the takeoff point to the building (adjacent side). So, we have:tan(θ)=distance from takeoff pointheight of the buildingtan(θ)=200 yards180 yards
Calculation of tan(θ): Now we calculate the value of tan(θ):tan(θ)=200180tan(θ)=0.9
Finding Angle θ: To find the angle θ, we need to take the arctangent (inverse tangent) of 0.9. We can use a calculator to do this.θ=arctan(0.9)
Final Angle Calculation: Using a calculator, we find that: θ≈arctan(0.9)≈42.01 degrees