A boat is spotted in the water with an angle of depression of 25° from the top of a lighthouse that is 89 feet tall. To the nearest foot, how far away is the boat from the base of the lighthouse?
A)
37 feet
B)
42 feet
C)
98 feet
D)
191 feet

Question

A boat is spotted in the water with an angle of depression of 25° from the top of a lighthouse that is 89 feet tall. To the nearest foot, how far away is the boat from the base of the lighthouse?
A)
37 feet	
B)
42 feet	
C)
98 feet	
D)
191 feet

campbell_st · Answer

always draw a diagram 

|dw:1347401072311:dw|

the angle inside the triangle is equal to 25 because of interior alternate angles in parallel lines. 

the diagram doesn't have a measurement for the hypotenuse, so you need to use tan

tan = opp/adj

in your question 

tan (25) = 89/x

so you need to solve for x