Question

The wheelchair ramp at the entrance of the Mission Bay Library has a slope of (1)/(18). What angle does the ramp make with the sidewalk? Round to the nearest degree

Answer 1

Explanation:

To determine the angle that the wheelchair ramp makes with the sidewalk, we can use the tangent function. The tangent of an angle is equal to the ratio of the length of the side opposite the angle to the length of the side adjacent to the angle.

In this case, the slope of the ramp is given as 1/18. The slope of the ramp can be considered as the ratio of the rise (vertical change) to the run (horizontal change).

Let's represent the angle that the ramp makes with the sidewalk as θ.

1. Write the equation using the tangent function:

tan(θ) = 1/18

2. Take the inverse tangent (arctan) of both sides to solve for θ:

θ = arctan(1/18)

Using a calculator, we can evaluate this expression:

θ ≈ 3.18 degrees

Therefore, the ramp makes an angle of approximately 3.18 degrees with the sidewalk.