Question

A 20 ft. beam leans against a wall. The beam

reaches the wall 13.9 ft. above the ground.
What is the measure of the angle formed by the
beam and the ground?

Answer 1

a 44°

Explanation:

Think of the right triangle formed by the beam, the ground, and the wall.

The beam is the hypotenuse. For the angle between the ground and the beam, call it angle A, the 13.9 ft side is the opposite leg. The trig ratio that relates the opposite leg and the hypotenuse is the sine.

sin A = opp/hyp

sin A = 13.9/20

sin A = 0.695

A = sin^-1 0.695

A = 44°