Help with algebra question

Question

A airplane takes off the runway at the angle of 15°. A fence is 50 feet away from the location where the plane took off from the runway. What is the altitude of the airplane when it passes over the fence?

Answer 1

1 - Create a 15-75 right triangle.

2 - The height of the airplane can be determined by the formula:

h = d * tan (x)

d = 50 feet

x = 15 degrees

tan(x) = 0.268

height = 13.397 feet.

Answer 2

Think about this as a right triangle. The horizontal would be 50 ft, and the vertical (let us use "y") is the altitude you are trying to find. It helps to draw a picture.

The angle between the hypotenuse and the horizontal is 15°.

Remember that tan(x) = opposite/adjacent, so we have:

tan(15°) = y/50

Which gives us:

y=50tan(15°)