algebra 2 high school

Question

The empire state building is 1250ft tall and 3.0 mi from the brooklyn bridge. From the bridge at what angle must you look to see the top of the Empire State Building. Round to the nearest tenth of a degree.(1 mi=5280ft)

Answer 1

Hi Ashley, to find the angle you must look up to see the top of the Empire State Building, you need to find the arctan of the angle based on the height of the Empire State Building divided by the distance the Brooklyn Bridge is from the Empire State building.

 

Given:

 

Height of Empire State Building: 1250 feet

 

Distance the Brooklyn Bridge is from the Empire State Building: 3 miles, or 15840 feet.

 

Solution:

 

arctan θ = 1250/15840 = .078914

 

Using a calculator, the value of θ is approximately: 4.5 degrees.

 

Questions?