A plane rises from take-off and flies at an angle of 12 degree with the horizontal runway. When is has ascended 1000 feet, find the distance, to the nearest foot, the plane has flown.

Question

anonymous · Answer

this is a drawing of how I imagine the problem, however I dont know if Im supposed to find the distance(x) or the distance(y)

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anonymous · Answer

I however do understand that if I were to find the distance y my equation would be sin12=1000/y

While if I wanted to find the distance x my equation would be tan12=1000/x

anonymous · Answer

So I guess my underlying question is am I  supposed to find how far the plane has traveled, or how far it has traveled relative the the ground?

cwrw238 · Answer

I would think its the distance relative to the ground so your second equation is what you want