Geometry Question

Question

Brian's kite is flying above a field at the end of a 65 m of string. If the angle of elevation to the kite measures 70 degrees, and Brian is holding the kite 1.2 m off the ground. How high above the ground is the kite flying?

Answer 1

Visualize a triangle where one point is Brians hand,, the second kite's position and the third a point drawn from the kite vertically down to end at the straight line drawn from Brian's hand parallel to the ground.

Let the distance from the ground of the kite be x.

So the following equations result:

one side of the triangle is x-1.2

this is opposite to the side of the angle 70 degrees. Length of string is the hypotenuse

Sin 70 =(x-1.2)/65

Sin 70=.94( from Sin tables)

so .94= (x-1.20)/65

x=( .94*65) +1.2

So x= 62.28