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From an upstairs window, I can see my neighbor's fence. The angle of depression is 7 degrees. If my window is 15 ft off the ground, how far is my neighbor's fence from my house? Round to the nearest whole number, do not include units. *

It’s not 17 or 1.8 I have tried and those are wrong

1 Answer

5 votes

Answer: 122 ft

Explanation:

Hi, since the situation forms a right triangle (see attachment) we have to apply the next trigonometric function.

Tan α = opposite side / adjacent side

Where α is the angle of depression, the opposite side is the height of the window above the ground, and the adjacent side (x) is the distance between the neighbor's fence and the house.

Replacing with the values given:

Tan 7 = 15/x

x = 15/tan 7

x = 122 ft

Feel free to ask for more if needed or if you did not understand something.

From an upstairs window, I can see my neighbor's fence. The angle of depression is-example-1
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