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Dimitri has let out 40m of his kite string, which makes an angle of 72° with the horizontal ground. If the kite flies directly over Sarah's head, what is the distance between Dimitri and Sarah?

Dimitri has let out 40m of his kite string, which makes an angle of 72° with the horizontal-example-1
User BugShotGG
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1 Answer

5 votes

Check the picture below.


\cos(72^o )=\cfrac{\stackrel{adjacent}{ds}}{\underset{hypotenuse}{40}} \implies 40\cos(72^o)=ds \implies 12.36\approx ds

Make sure your calculator is in Degree mode.

Dimitri has let out 40m of his kite string, which makes an angle of 72° with the horizontal-example-1
User Thiyaga B
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