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Dele stands atop a 200-meter high cliff and observes a boat at sea with an angle of depression of 35 degrees. What is the distance between the boat and the cliff?

A) 114.56 meters
B) 173.21 meters
C) 229.84 meters
D) 256.12 meters

1 Answer

7 votes

Final answer:

To find the distance between the boat and the cliff, we can use trigonometry. The angle of depression is 35 degrees and the height of the cliff is 200 meters. Using the tangent function, we can calculate that the distance between the boat and the cliff is approximately 229.84 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the distance between the boat and the cliff, we can use trigonometry. The angle of depression is the angle between the line of sight from Dele to the boat and a horizontal line. In this case, the angle of depression is 35 degrees. We can use the tangent function to find the distance between the boat and the cliff.

Tangent function relates the opposite side and the adjacent side of a right triangle. In this case, the opposite side is the height of the cliff (200 meters) and the adjacent side is the distance between the boat and the cliff. So, we have:

Tan(35 degrees) = 200 / x, where x is the distance between the boat and the cliff.

Solving this equation for x, we get:

x = 200 / tan(35 degrees)

Using a calculator, we find that x is approximately 229.84 meters.

Therefore, the correct answer is C) 229.84 meters.

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