Question

A hot air balloon is 600 feet above where it is planning to land and descending at a rate of 40 feet per minute. Sarah is driving over rough terrain at a speed of 10 miles per hour to meet the balloon when it lands. If the angle of elevation to the balloon is 20 degrees, how far of the away is Sarah from the place where the balloon will land?

Answer 1

600 feet/40 feet per minute = 15 minutes for balloon to land.

(10 mph)(1/4 hour) = 4 miles for Sarah to drive

The figure is omitted--please sketch it.

Set your calculator to degree mode.

tan(20°) = x/4

x = 4tan(20°) = 1.46 miles