Standing on top of a building 42 m high, an observer sights two objects at P and Q on opposite sides of the building. The angles of depression from the observer to P and Q are 23° 18' and 35° 33' respectively. What is the distance between P and Q to the nearest m?
Again, just need someone to explain to me what the degree sign (°) and apostrophe sign (') means. Thanks in advance.
Like I pointed, as did writeacher, the ' here means minutes of angle, the seconds of angle would be ''
so 30° 45' 4''
would be 30° + 45/60° + 4/3600°
= 30 + .75 + .001111..
= 30.75111..°
The degree sign (°) is used to represent degrees, a unit of measurement for angles. One degree is equal to 1/360th of a complete circle. For example, a complete circle is 360 degrees.
The apostrophe sign (') represents minutes. Minutes are a subdivision of degrees. One degree is equal to 60 minutes. So, when you see a number followed by an apostrophe, it indicates the number of minutes in relation to an angle.
In the given question, the angles of depression from the observer to P and Q are 23° 18' and 35° 33' respectively. This means that the angle of depression to P is 23 degrees and 18 minutes, while the angle of depression to Q is 35 degrees and 33 minutes.