Question

How to find the angle of elevation of the kite?

Answer 1

`theta = 61.0°`

Explanation:

You might find the following approach easier to understand...

Diagram from Timothy B's answer- used with many thanks

In the triangle above, the sides given are the opposite and the hypotenuse.

The ratio of `("opposite")/("hypotenuse")` is the Sine of `theta`

Find the value of the ratio as a decimal. This will tell you what fraction or what percent the length of the opposite side is of the hypotenuse.

`Sin theta = 28/32 = 0.875`

Now using trig tables or a calculator, you need to find which angle has a sin value of `0.875`

`Sin theta = 28/32 = 0.875`

`" "theta = 61.0°`

They key presses would be as follows:

`28" "div" "32" "=" shift " sin" "ans" "=`

Or simply: `28div32 =` then `sin^(-1)" ans "=`

This all means that if a triangle has an angle of `61°`,
then the opposite side will be `87.5%` of the length of the hypotenuse.