At 10 am on April 26, 1998, a building 300 feet high casts a shadow 50 feet long. What is the angle of elevation of the Sun
tanØ = 50/300
evaluate 50/300, then take 2nd Tan
set your calculator to the appropriate degree or radian
(DEG or RAD)
how do you take 2nd Tan?
could you type what i should put into the calculator? thank you
To determine the angle of elevation of the Sun, we can use the concept of similar triangles. The vertical height of the building, the length of its shadow, and the angle of elevation of the Sun form a right triangle.
We can set up the proportion:
(height of the building) / (length of the shadow) = (tangent of the angle of elevation)
Let's calculate the tangent of the angle of elevation:
tangent = (height of the building) / (length of the shadow)
tangent = 300 feet / 50 feet
tangent = 6
Now we need to find the inverse tangent (also known as arctan) of the resulting value to obtain the angle itself:
angle = arctan(tangent)
angle = arctan(6)
Using a calculator, we find that the angle is approximately 80.54 degrees.
Therefore, the angle of elevation of the Sun at 10 am on April 26, 1998, is approximately 80.54 degrees.