Question

You want to build a skateboard ramp that is 12 feet long and reaches a

height of 3 feet. What is the angle of elevation of the ramp? Round your
answer to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

14.0362 degrees (round to 14.0 degrees)

Explanation:

1. Assume that the math can be deduced by the sides of a triangle due to the "sightline" nature of the problem. This is a classic trig problem you will see.

2. The base of the triangle would be 12 feet and one of the legs of the triangle will be 3 feet.

3. Arctangent will provide the angle of elevation. The equation can be written as arctan(h/b), in this case h = height and b = base.

4. The calculation will be arctan(3/12) which translates to 14 degrees which is, fortunately, the angle of elevation.

I recommend trying this method out with another example such as the angle of elevation between you and the next plane you see in the sky. For example, the height difference between you and the plane is 7 miles and the plane is x miles away. Again we can create a simple triangle to discover many interesting details.