Question

Mayfield High School's flagpole is 15 feet high. Using a clinometer, Tamara measure an angle of 11.3 to the top of the pole. Tamara is 62 inches tall. How far from the flagpole is Tamara standing?

Answer 1

See below.

Explanation:

We can see from the diagram that we need to find the length of side `b` of the right angled triangle `ABC`.

b = `AC`

We can find the length of b using the tangent ratio of `11.5^@`:

`tan(11.2)=(BC)/(AC)`

`AC=(BC)/tan(11.2)`

We first need to find the length of `BC`.

First convert all measurements into the same units:

Tamara's height is 62 inches, so convert to feet:

`62/12=31/6` feet

Length of BC = height of flagpole- Tamara's height:

`15-31/6=59/6`

Length of b = length of `AC`

`AC=(59/6)/tan(11.2)=49.66` feet. ( 2.d.p.)

So Tamara is standing 49.66 feet away from flagpole.