Question

The picture below shows a portion of a river dam:

Which of the following can be used to calculate the height of the river dam? (6 points)

220 cos 40°
220 divided by tan 40 degrees
220 sin 40°
220 divided by cos 40 degrees

Answer 1

220cos40

Explanation:

cos40=x/220

(220)cos40=x/220(220)

220cos40=x

Answer 2

Hello,

If you are starting with the angle of 40 degrees, you have an adjacent side and hypotenuse. Therefore, it is a cosine relationship.

We can write:

cos(40) = adj / hyp
cos(40) = x / 220

To solve for x, simply multiply 220 by the cos(40).
You can write it as: 220 cos(40)

Good luck,
MrEQ