Question

A pilot in a helicopter spots a landing pad below. If the angle of depression is 73 degrees and the horizontal distance to the pad is 1200 ft., What is the altitude of the helicopter?

Answer 1

To find the altitude of the helicopter, we can use trigonometry and the angle of depression. The altitude is the opposite side of the right triangle formed, while the horizontal distance is the adjacent side. Using the tangent function, we can find that the altitude is approximately 3806.80 ft.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the altitude of the helicopter, we can use trigonometry and the angle of depression. The altitude is the opposite side of the right triangle formed, while the horizontal distance is the adjacent side. Since we know the angle of depression is 73 degrees and the horizontal distance is 1200 ft, we can use the tangent function to find the altitude.

Let's call the altitude h. Using the tangent function, we have:

tan(73) = h / 1200

Now, we can solve for h by multiplying both sides of the equation by 1200:

h = 1200 * tan(73)

Using a calculator, we can find that h is approximately 3806.80 ft.