Question

A 4m flagpole is not standing up straight. There is a wire attached to the top of the pole anchored in the ground. The wire is 4.17m long. The wire makes a 68° angle with the ground. What is the angle (in degrees) the flagpole makes with the wire?

A) 22°
B) 45°
C) 68°
D) 90°

Answer 1

To find the angle the flagpole makes with the wire, we can use trigonometry. Using the cosine function and the length of the wire, we can calculate that the flagpole is bent to the side by approximately 1.75 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the angle the flagpole makes with the wire, we can use trigonometry. Since the wire is anchored in the ground, it forms the hypotenuse of a right triangle.

The opposite side of the triangle represents the height of the flagpole, which is 4 meters. The adjacent side represents the distance the flagpole is bent to the side, which we can find using the given angle and the length of the wire.

Using the cosine function, we can write the equation as:

cos(angle) = adjacent / hypotenuse

cos(angle) = x / 4.17

Solving for x, we get:

x = cos(angle) * 4.17

Replacing cos(angle) with its value from the given angle (68°), we can calculate x:

x = cos(68°) * 4.17 = 1.75 meters

Therefore, the flagpole is bent to the side by approximately 1.75 meters.