Question

In order to keep a boat from drifting away, the boat is tied to a pier with a 60-foot rope. When the boat drifts as far from the pier as the rope will allow, the rope forms a 15° angle relative to the horizontal water line.

To the nearest foot, find the maximum horizontal distance, d, that the tied-up boat can drift from the pier.

Answer 1

58 feet

Explanation:

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Answer 2

A right triangle will be formed upon sketching the given scenario with the rope as the hypotenuse. So, using the cosine function:

cos 15 = d/60
d = 60 cos 15
d= 57.96 ft

Therefore, the maximum horizontal distance that the tied-up boat can drift from the pier is 58 ft.