Question

A person in a balloon which is 2,000 feet above the airport finds that the angle of depression to a ship out at sea is 21°. Find the horizontal distance between the balloon and the ship.

Answer 1

Answer: The answer is 767.72 ft.

Explanation:

You need to use tan since the problem requires u finding out the distance from the airport and ship and u only have the height of the balloon and the angle of depression. So then the equation becomes :

Tan21 = x/2000

Then you multiply by 2000 on both sides:

Tan21(2000) = x(2000)

The equation then becomes:

X= Tan21(2000)

so then x is: 767.72 ft

Answer 2

The horizontal distance is given by the formula:
tan θ=opposite/adjacent
where:
θ=21
opposite=2000 ft
adjacent=a
thus calculating for a we get:
tan 21=2000/a
thus
a=2000/tan 21
a=5210.18 ft

Answer: 5210.18 ft