The sun is 25 degrees above the horizon. Find the length of a shadow cast by a building that a=130 feet tall. Approximate the answer to two decimal places.

Question

• Need answer in feet

Answer 1

draw a right triangle

the building is the vertical leg and the shadow is the horizontal leg

the hypotenuse makes a 25 degree angle with the top of the building

call the shadow "x"

tan=opposite/ adjacent

tan(25º)=130/x

x=130/tan(25º)

x=130/0.46630765

x=278.78593

x=278.79 feet (answer)

you could also use the cotangent of 25 degrees

cot(25º)=2.1445069

cot(25º)=x/130