Question

Luke is flying a kite and realizes that 400 feet of string are out. The angle of the string with the ground is 50°. To the nearest hundredth what is the horizontal distance between Luke and the kite?

The horizontal distance is ____.

Answer 1

To find the horizontal distance between Luke and the kite, we can use trigonometry. The horizontal distance is equal to the length of the string multiplied by the cosine of the angle. Let's calculate it:

Horizontal distance = 400 feet * cos(50°)

Using a calculator, we can find the cosine of 50 degrees to be approximately 0.6428. Multiplying this by 400 feet, we get:

Horizontal distance = 400 feet * 0.6428 ≈ 257.12 feet

Therefore, the horizontal distance between Luke and the kite is approximately 257.12 feet when rounded to the nearest hundredth.

Explanation: