Question

The angle of elevation from a soccer ball on the ground to the top of the goal is 38 degrees. If the goal is 8 feet tall, what is the distance from the ball to the goal?

Answer 1

The distance is 10.24 feet ( to the nearest hundredth).

Explanation:

Use trigonometry of a right angled triangle:

The angle = 38 degrees, opposite side = 8 ft, we require the adjacent side: We have opposite / adjacent side so we need the tangent.

tan 38 = 8 / a

a = 8 / tan 38

= 10.24 feet.