How to find the angle of elevation of the kite?

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1 Answer
Sep 29, 2017

theta = 61.0°

Explanation:

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

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

enter image source here

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.