Megan S.

asked • 01/29/15

I need help on a trig word problem

The angle of elevation from the far side of a pool to the top of a waterfall is 65 degrees and the distance from the far side of the pool to the top of the waterfall is 160 feet.
a. Find the height of the waterfall to the nearest tenth of a foot.
b. Find the width of the pool to the nearest tenth of a foot.
 
(I only need part b)

1 Expert Answer

By:

Megan S.

No, I used tan(65)=160/x and got x=343.12ft
Report

01/29/15

Arthur D.

tutor
sin(65)=x/160
0.9063=x/160
x=0.9063*160
x=145.0 feet
check:
you have a right triangle and the hypotenuse is 160 and the legs are 67.6 and 145
1602=67.62+1452
25,600=4569.76+21,025
25,600≈25,594.76
The vertical height of the waterfall can't be greater than the diagonal distance (the hypotenuse of the right triangle.)
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01/29/15

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