Question

HELP FAST! A cat spies a bird sitting at the top of a 32 foot pole. If the angle of elevation from the cat to the bird is 47°, then the cat is __________ feet from the base of the flagpole. Select one:

a. 29.880
b. 29.890
c. 29.820
d. 29.800
e. 29.840

Answer 1

e. 29.840

Explanation:

The cat, the floor and the foot pole form the shape of a right angled triangle.

The opposite is the height of the foot pole = 32 ft

The adjacent is the distance of the cat from the base of the foot pole.

The hypotenuse is the direct distance of the cat from the bird.

The angle of elevation, x, is 47°

To find the distance of the cat from the foot of the foot pole, we can use to TAN part of the trigonometric function SOHCAHTOA:

tan(x) = opposite / adjacent

=> tan(47) = 32 / adj

adj = 32 / tan(47)

adj = 29.840 ft

Therefore, the cat is 29.840 feet from the base of the foot pole.