A pilot observes the measure of the angle of depression of a marker to be 36 degrees. the plane is 2000m above the ground. How Far from the marker is the point on the ground directly beneath the plane?

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Answer 1 · 2018-05-22T09:39:40

# 2000/tan(36^circ) approx 2753 # m

Triangle #P#lane#G#round#M#arker is a right triangle, #G# the right angle, #M=36^circ,# #PG=2000# m.

# tan M = {PG}/{MG}#

# MG= {PG}/tan M = 2000/tan(36^circ) #

Now I happen to know #tan(36^circ)# in a nice radical form, but I admit that's not that useful to a pilot. We approximate.

#MG approx 2753 # m