Question

From a point on the ground 144 ft. from the base of a building, the angle of elevation to the top of the building is 23.5°. How tall is the building?

Answer 1

how level is the ground?

Answer 2

it's trig so I am guessing a level plane which would mean it has a 90° angle at C.

Answer 3

then tangent helps

Answer 4

tan(t) = h/d

d tan(t) = h

Answer 5

Make a triangle out of the problem. Your horizontal leg is 144ft. Your vertical leg will be x because that is what you want to find. Your angle will be in between your horizontal leg and hypotenuse.
Now it is time to pick a trig function that will answer your question...
Tangent is opp/adj so it will incorporate what you need.
Your equation is now tan23.5 = x/144. Now solve for x.
.4348 = x/144
x is
approximately 62.6