Final answer:
To find the distance from the airport, you can use trigonometry and the tangent function. By rearranging the equation, you can solve for the distance. The distance from the airport is approximately 1915.1 feet, rounded to the nearest tenth.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the distance from the airport, we can use trigonometry. The angle of descent, given as 13 degrees, forms a right triangle with the height of the plane and the distance from the airport. We can use the tangent function to find the distance:
tan(13°) = opposite/adjacent
We know the opposite side is 500 feet, so we can solve for the adjacent side (which represents the distance from the airport). By rearranging the equation, we get:
adjacent = 500 feet / tan(13°)
Using a calculator, we can find that the distance from the airport is approximately 1915.1 feet, rounded to the nearest tenth.