A 200 ft high cell phone tower is supported by guy wires. The wires from ground anchor to top of tower make a 63 o angle of elevation.

Question

Cont. How long is each guy wire? How far from the base of the tower must they meet the ground?

Answer 1

A right triangle is formed by the guy wires and the tower. The guy wire is the hypotenuse and the 200 foot cell tower height is one of the legs.

angle of elevation is between where the guy wire reaches the ground and the ground

Use trigonometric functions to answer problem:

sin(63) = opposite/hypotenuse = 200/guy wire length (hypotenuse)

tan(63) = opposite/adjacent = 200/distance from base of tower

solve equations for unknown