From a boat on the lake, the angle of elevation to the top of a cliff is 15°54'. If the base of the cliff is 967 feet from the boat, how high is the cliff (to the nearest foot)?

Question

loser66 · Answer

can you draw out the diagram?

anonymous · Answer

it doesnt have a diagram

loser66 · Answer

YOU do it.

anonymous · Answer

yeah idk how to do it.. I suck at this!

loser66 · Answer

|dw:1389315305945:dw|

loser66 · Answer

and I am stuck !!! just help you until this. is there any thing pop up in your mind?

anonymous · Answer

I found this on yahoo
arctan (sin (pi/2)) 
sin (pi/2) = 1 
arctan 1 = pi/4 

cliff's height H is the side of a right triangle having 
opposite angle 15°54' and the other side 967ft 

H = 967 tan(15°54') = 275ft 
 does it look right?

anonymous · Answer

yayy thank you !! and how do I give you a medal? Its my first time on here

loser66 · Answer

the concept is ok, but the calculation is not good
H = 967*tan(15.54) = 268.89 near 269 ft, not 275ft
I don't care about medal, friend

anonymous · Answer

15°54'not 15.54...

anonymous · Answer

thats what it is in the equation

loser66 · Answer

hihihi, sure. I use calculator to calculate tan ( angle) not tan(number)

anonymous · Answer

wait i put the wrong solution from yahoo loll this is it my bad
54' is 54/60 of a degree 
to convert in decimals you must solve the proportion 
x/100 = 54/60 

should be 90/100 = 0.9 

so 15°54' = 15.9°