A tree casts a 25-foot shadow on a sunny day. If the angle of elevation from the tip of the shadow to the top of the tree is 32°, what is the height of the tree to the nearest tenth of a foot?

Question

amistre64 · Answer

your gonna need to know trig, and have a calculator

anonymous · Answer

I have a calculator!

amistre64 · Answer

the tan function gives us a ration of height to distance given the angle

amistre64 · Answer

tan(32) = h/25 , solve for h

anonymous · Answer

$$tan(32)=\frac{o}{25}$$
$$25tan(32)=o$$
$$o=15.6ft$$

amistre64 · Answer

make sure your calc is on degrees and not radians :)

anonymous · Answer

You have to visualize the problem as a triangle. You have an angle and a side. From the angle's perspective you have the adjacent which is why we apply tangent. We need the opposite.

anonymous · Answer

thanks everyone!