Question

Justin is standing on a bridge, and his eye level is 28 feet above the surface of the water. If he spots a fish on the surface of the water 75 feet downstream from the point he is standing above, what is the angle of depression from his eye level to the fish?

Answer 1

Assuming that the 75 feet measurement is the distance from where Justin is at the ground level to the fish (and not the diagonal distance from his location to the fish), the angle is given by arctan(28/75) = 28.472 degrees. This is probably the right answer.

If the 75 feet measurement is the diagonal distance, the angle is arcsin(28/75) = 21.921 degrees.

We know this from a relation of right triangle trigonometry. Tell me if you need more clarification.