Question

The tallest freestanding structure in the world is 553-m tall CN tower in toronto, ontario. Suppose that at a certain time of day it casts a shadow 1100m long on the ground. What is the angle of elevation of the sun at the time of day?

Answer 1

`26^@69`

Explanation:

Call a the angle of elevation of the sun
`tan a = 553/1100 = 0.502`
Calculator gives: `a = 26^@69`

Answer 2

`theta = 26.69°`

Explanation:

The angle of elevation is always between the horizontal and the line of sight looking upwards. A common error is to place it at the top of a triangle.

In this case the angle of elevation is on the ground, from the end of the shadow of the building looking up towards the top of the building.

Draw a sketch and fill in the lengths of the opposite side (553m) and the adjacent side (1100m) , the right -angle at the base of the building and the angle of elevation , `theta`

`Tan theta = 553/1100 = 0.5027`

`theta = 26.69°`