Question

23. The chair lift at a ski resort rises at an angle of 21° and attains a vertical

height of 1575 feet. How far does the chair lift travel up the side of a
mountain?

Answer 1

The chair travels approximately 4,394.924 feet.

Explanation:

We need to use trigonometric functions to solve this problem. You are given the opposite side of an angle and asked to find the hypotenuse. This means you must use sine, because sine is the ratio between opposite and hypotenuse.

Set up the equation as so:

sin(21) = 1575/x

(x being the hypotenuse). Solve for x by multiplying both sides by x and then dividing both sides by sin(21). Solve 1575/(sin(21)), and you get 4,394.924273, or 4,394.92