Question

A building casts a 32m shadow when the sun is at an angle of 30 degrees to the vertical. How tall is the building to the nearest meter?

Answer 1

16m tall

Explanation:

Distance casted by the shadow = 32m = hypotenuse

Angle of elevation = 30 degrees

Required

Height of the building = opposite

Using the SOH CAH TOA identity

sin theta = opp/hyp

sin 30 = x/32

0.5 = x/32

x = 0.5 * 32

x = 16m

Hence the building is 16m tall