Question

A rope with a length of 3.5 meters is tied from a stake in the ground to the top of a tent. It forms a 17 degree angle with the ground. How tall is the tent?

Answer 1

The tent is 1.0233 m tall.

Explanation:

The rope, the ground and the tent form a right triangle, where the rope is the hypothenuse and the height of the tent is the opposite side to the angle of 17 degrees. We can apply the sine relation on a right triangle to determine the height of the tent, as shown below:

sin(angle) = opposite side / hypothenuse

sin(17) = h / 3.5

h = 3.5*sin(17)

h = 3.5*0.2923 = 1.0233 m

The tent is 1.0233 m tall.