help needed asap!!

Question

A wheelchair ramp must form an angle no greater than 4.8 degrees with the ground. If a 1.8 foot high ramp is needed, what is the minimum horizontal length for the ramp so it satisfies the angle requirement? Include a sketch of the ramp.

Answer 1

This problem involves trigonometry. Remember SOH CAH TOA, so tangent = opposite / adjacent.

Your sketch should be a right triangle so that the horizontal leg is the value in question and the vertical leg is 1.8 feet (the height of your ramp). The hypotenuse represents the ramp itself.

The maximum angle between the horizontal leg and the hypotenuse is 4.8 degrees. When the angle is at its maximum, the horizontal length is at its minimum.

Therefore, tangent theta = opposite/adjacent.

tan 4.8 degrees = 1.8 feet/adjacent

adjacent (horizontal distance) = 1.8 feet/tan 4.8 degrees = 21.44 feet

Remember to confirm that your calculator is in degrees mode.