Question

A destroyer on patrol spots an aircraft at an altitude of 10,000 ft and an angle of elevation of 20⁰. How far is the aircraft from the ship?

Round to the nearest whole number.

Answer 1

`sin= (opp)/(hyp) \\\\sin (20) = (10000)/(hyp)\\\\hyp= (10000)/(sin(20)) \\\\hyp= 29238 ft`

The aircraft is 29238 ft from the ship

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Note: this is based on my assumption that we are looking for the hypotenuse.

If we are looking for the adjacent side, then the answer would be 27475 ft.