Question

The sun shines at a 60∘ angle to the ground. A flagpole is 20 feet tall. If you are trying to find the length of the shadow cast by the flagpole, what function should be used?

Sine
cosine
tangent

Answer 1

Answer: From the 60° angle, the flagpole is the opposite side and the shadow is the adjacent side of the triangle.

tangent 60° = opposite/adjacent

so

tan 60° = 20/x

multiply both sides by x and you have

x · tan60° = 20

divide both sides by tan 60° and you have

x = 20/tan60°

x = 11.5 ft.

if this is wrong sorry don’t be mad but if it’s right then hope this helps