Pyth Thm and Trig Word Problems

Question

The tailgate of a moving van is 4.25 feet above the ground. A loading ramp is attached to the rear of the van at an incline of 12°. What is the length of the ramp? Round to the nearest hundredth.

Answer 1

Draw a picture of a right triangle. The height of the triangle is 4.25, the hypotenuse is 2, and the angle of elevation is 12 degrees.

sin 12 = 4.25/x

solve for x to get 4.25/sin 12 = 20.44 feet for the length of the ramp