Question

the roof of a house is at a 20 degree angle. an 8 foot solar panel is to be mounted on the roof, and should be angled 38 degrees relative to the horizontal for optimal results. how long does the vertical support holding up the back of the panel need to be?

Answer 1

To find the length of the vertical support for the solar panel, we can use the sine function and trigonometry. The vertical support needs to be approximately 12.69 feet long.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the length of the vertical support holding up the back of the solar panel, we need to use trigonometry. We can use the concept of right triangles and the sine function to solve this problem.

First, we need to find the length of the hypotenuse, which represents the length of the support. We can use the height of the solar panel (8 feet) and the angle of elevation (38 degrees) to find it.

Using the sine function, we have: sin(38 degrees) = opposite/hypotenuse. Plugging in the values, we get sin(38 degrees) = 8/hypotenuse.

Solving for the hypotenuse, we find that the vertical support needs to be approximately 12.69 feet long.