Question

A tree 10 meters high casts a 17.3 meter shadow.

Find the angle of elevation of the sun.
Round your answer to the nearest degree.
means having the
metry helps us to find
10 m
sa function the inve
e use the symbols to
17.3 m
to find side lengths, y
is cos(x).

Answer 1

the angle of elevation of the sun is
`\approx 30^o`

Explanation:

Let's make a diagram of the tree, ground and inclination of the rays of the sun, so we understand what right angle triangle we have. Please see the attached image.

Notice that our unknown is the angle
`\theta`, and that we know the size of the side opposite to it, and of the side adjacent to it. Therefore the most convenient trigonometric formula to use is the tangent of the angle because:

`tan(\theta)=(opposite)/(adjacent) \\tan(\theta)=(10)/(17.3)\\\theta=arctan((10)/(17.3))\\\theta\approx 30^o`