Question

You are standing 186 feet away from the base of a building and your clinometer

measures 23° when it's looking at the top of the building. (This angle is the one between
the ground and the top of the building). Please calculate the height of the building.

Answer 1

9514 1404 393

Answer:

about 79 ft

Explanation:

The relevant trig relation is ...

Tan = Opposite/Adjacent

In this scenario, the angle is 23°, the adjacent side is the distance to the building, and the opposite side is the building height. Then we have ...

height = tan(23°)·(186 ft) ≈ 78.95 ft ≈ 79 ft