Question

A tower that is 118 feet tall casts a shadow 130 feet long. Find the angle of elevation of the sun to the nearest degree.

Answer 1

42°

Explanation:

A right-angled triangle can formed in this scenario (image attached), where:

θ = angle of elevation of the sun

Opposite side = The height of the tower

Adjacent side = Length of the shadow

Trigonometric function will be used to determine the angle of elevation:

tanθ =
`(opposite)/(adjacent)`

`= (118 feet)/(130 feet)`

feet in the numerator and denominator will cancel each other out completely:

θ =
`tan^(-1) ((118)/(130))`

θ = 42.23°

∴ θ = 42° (Rounded to the nearest degree)