Two birds sit at the top of two different trees 57.4 feet away from one another. The distance between the second bird and a bird watcher on the ground is 49.6 feet.

What is the angle measure, or angle of depression, between the first bird and the bird watcher?

Question

Two birds sit at the top of two different trees 57.4 feet away from one another. The distance between the second bird and a bird watcher on the ground is 49.6 feet. 

What is the angle measure, or angle of depression, between the first bird and the bird watcher?

anonymous · Answer

Can you set it up, do you know how to draw the image of it?

anonymous · Answer

attachment

anonymous · Answer

Do you know soh cah toa? If so, which do you use, sin, cos, or tan?

anonymous · Answer

soh?

anonymous · Answer

alright, soh cah toa is a saying, (pronounced soo-kah-toe-a) that helps you remember when to use sin, cos, and tan. each letter shows the relationship between sin, cos, and tan with the sides of the triangle. soh = sin (angle) = opposite side over hypotenuse.

anonymous · Answer

so:
soh means sin(x)= opposite/hypotenuse
cah means cos(x)= adjacent/hypotenuse
toa means tan(x)= opposite/adjacent

anonymous · Answer

so our angle x needs 2 sides, and the proper trig function to give us the angle. In the picture, which two sides do we have, the adjacent side, the opposite side, or the hypotenuse?

anonymous · Answer

adjacent and opposite

anonymous · Answer

alright, now which identity uses adjacent and opposite?

anonymous · Answer

you can refer to soh cah toa to help you figure that out.

anonymous · Answer

i dont know.

anonymous · Answer

you would use the tan function because of toa. we have both the opposite and adjacent (the o and a in toa). So you set up the equation:
tan(x)= opposite side/adjacent side

anonymous · Answer

what are the opposite side and adjacent sides? all you need to do is replace them in the generic form:
tan(x)= opposite side/adjacent side

anonymous · Answer

Im not sure. I just need you to set me up witht he equation

anonymous · Answer

the equation would be like so:
opposite side = 49.6
adjacent side = 57.4

$$\tan(x)=\frac{ opposite }{ adjacent }$$
$$\tan(x)=\frac{ 49.6}{ 57.4 }$$

do you see how I got that?

anonymous · Answer

what do i do from there tho?

anonymous · Answer

do you know how to use inverse tangent?

anonymous · Answer

idk

anonymous · Answer

Look through your math book, there should be an inverse tangent in one of the recent chapters. It will explain how to solve this equation.