A silo is 40 feet high and 16 feet across. find the angle of depression from the top edge to floor. How do you solve this?

If you draw a cross section , would you not have a right-angled triangle with base of 16 and height of 40?

Should be very simple after that.

(I got 68.2°)

To find the angle of depression from the top edge to the floor of a silo, we can use trigonometry. The angle of depression is the angle formed by the line of sight from the top edge of the silo to a point on the floor directly below it.

In this case, we have the height of the silo (40 feet) and the distance from the top edge to the point directly below it (16 feet).

To find the angle of depression, we'll use the tangent function:

Tangent(angle of depression) = Opposite / Adjacent

In this case, the opposite side is the height of the silo (40 feet) and the adjacent side is the distance from the top edge to the point directly below it (16 feet).

So, the equation becomes:

Tangent(angle of depression) = 40 / 16

To solve for the angle of depression, we can take the inverse tangent (or arctangent) of both sides of the equation:

angle of depression = arctan(40 / 16)

Using a calculator or computing software, we can find the arctan value to determine the angle of depression.

To solve this problem, you can use trigonometry and the concept of an angle of depression. The angle of depression is the angle between the line of sight from an observer looking downwards and the horizontal line.

In this case, we have a right triangle where the height of the silo is the opposite side, the distance from the top edge to the floor is the adjacent side, and the angle of depression is the angle we need to find.

Here are the steps to solve this problem:

1. Draw a diagram: Sketch a right triangle to represent the scenario. Label the height of the silo as the opposite side (40 feet), and the distance from the top edge to the floor as the adjacent side.

2. Use trigonometric functions: The relevant trigonometric function for finding the angle of depression is tangent (tan). The formula for tangent is:

tan(angle) = opposite / adjacent

In this case, the opposite side is the height of the silo (40 feet), and the adjacent side is the distance from the top edge to the floor. Let's call it "x" feet.

tan(angle) = 40 / x

3. Solve for the angle: Now, we need to solve for the angle itself. To do that, we can take the inverse tangent (arctan) of both sides of the equation:

angle = arctan(40 / x)

Use a scientific calculator or an online calculator that has the arctan function to find the angle.

By following these steps, you can find the angle of depression from the top edge of the silo to the floor.