Question

A flagpole broken over by the wind forms a right triangle w/ the ground.if the angle w/c the broken part makes w/ the ground is 50 degree and the distance from the tip of the pole to the foot is 55 feet how tall was the pole?

Answer 1

So you need to find p1 and p2 in my drawing.

p1 is opposite the 50 degree angle, so it is:
tan(50) = p1/55

p2 is the hypotenuse
cos(50) = p2/55

height = p1 + p2 = 55(tan(50) + cos(50))