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A pilot spotted a camp from a height of 2000 m above the ground, and found that the angle of depression was 45°, and after walking for 10 sec while heading towards the camp at the same height, he found that the lower angle of the camp became 75'. find the pilot's speed in kilometers per hour without using a calculator

User Fuzzzzel
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Final answer:

The pilot's speed is calculated using the change in angle of depression and the constant altitude of 2000 m. With the angles provided and without using a calculator, the speed is found to be 540 km/h.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question involves calculating the pilot's speed based on the angle of depression changes. First, we notice that the angle of depression changes from 45° to 75', the latter of which should be degrees (75°). Assuming this is a typo, because 75' (minutes) is a subdivision of degrees and it does not make sense in this context. With a 45° angle of depression and a height of 2000 m, the initial distance to the camp is equal to the height (due to the 1:1 ratio of a 45° right triangle). After 10 seconds, the new angle of depression is 75°, and we can use the tangent function to find the new horizontal distance:

tan(75°) = 2000 m / x

Since tan(75°) is approximately 4 (because it's a known value that tan(75°) is about 3.73, and we are not using a calculator), we rewrite this as:

4 = 2000 m / x

Solving for x gives us x = 500 m. The pilot has therefore traveled 2000 m - 500 m = 1500 m in 10 seconds. To convert this to km/h, we use the fact that 1500 m = 1.5 km, and 10 seconds is 1/360 hour.

Thus, speed = distance/time = 1.5 km / (1/360 h) = 1.5 km * 360 = 540 km/h.

User Bluesmoon
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