A hawk sitting on top of a tree spots a mouse on the ground 15 meters from the base of the tree. The hawk swoops down toward the mouse at an angle of 30º. What is the distance from the tree branch to the mouse?

Question

anonymous · Answer

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welshfella · Answer

you need to use the trig ratio equal to opposite / hypotenuse
which one is that?

anonymous · Answer

sin A = cos(90°−A) ?

welshfella · Answer

you use the sine because sin  = opp/hyp
- no need to worry about cos (90 - A)

welshfella · Answer

just plug in A = 30 and opposite = 15 and solve for h

welshfella · Answer

sin 39  = 15/h

welshfella · Answer

* sin 30

welshfella · Answer

the distance form tree top to the mouse is h

welshfella · Answer

can you solve for h?

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