a support cable

Question

a support cable for a 84 foot tower forms at a 69 degree angle with the ground

what is the length of the cable to the nearest foot

76

90

81

93

Answer 1

So if we assume that the tower stands up straight (valid math assumption), then the tower makes an angle with the ground of 90 degrees. Therefore, the ground, tower and support cable, form a right triangle with angles 90, 69 and 21 degrees.

I would suggest drawing this triangle and then labeling the sides and angles you know.

The support cable length will be the hypotenuse.

You can then apply SOHCAHTOA (definition of SIN, COS & TAN) to use the SIN or COS of the known angles and the hypotenuse length to find the missing side(s).