Question

from a window 20 feet above the ground, the angle of elevation to the top of another building is 35 degrees. The distance between the building is 52 feet. Find the height of the building nearest to the nearest tenth of a foot

Answer 1

56.4 ft

Explanation:

The tangent of the angle relates the opposite side (height above the window) to the adjacent side (distance between buildings) in the right triangle that models this geometry.

Tan = Opposite/Adjacent

tan(35°) = (height above window)/(distance between buildings)

height above window = (52 ft)tan(35°) ≈ 36.4 ft

Added to the window height of 20 ft, the height of the other building is ...

20 ft + 36.4 ft = 56.4 ft