Question

The pilot of a helicopters measures the angle of

depression to a landing spot to be 30.4°. The pilot's
altitude is 2500 meters.
What is the horizontal distance to the landing spot to
the nearest meter?

Answer 1

To find the horizontal distance to the landing spot, we can use trigonometry. The angle of depression is 30.4° and the pilot's altitude is 2500 meters. By using the tangent function, we can find the horizontal distance to be approximately 4336 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the horizontal distance to the landing spot, we can use trigonometry. The angle of depression is the angle between the horizontal and the line of sight from the pilot to the landing spot. In this case, the angle of depression is 30.4°. We can use the tangent function to find the ratio of the opposite side (the altitude) to the adjacent side (the horizontal distance).

tan(angle of depression) = altitude / horizontal distance

We can rearrange the formula to solve for the horizontal distance:

horizontal distance = altitude / tan(angle of depression)

Plugging in the values, we get:

horizontal distance = 2500 / tan(30.4°)

Using a scientific calculator, the horizontal distance to the nearest meter is approximately 4336 meters.