Another question is a guy wire stretches from the top of an antenna tower to a point on level ground 18 feet from the base of the tower. The angle between the wire and the ground is 63 degrees. How high is the tower?
So I said the tower was 3503 fet high because i did tan63 * 18; I feel this answer is wrong..if it is can you please give me the right answer and explain why my method was wrong?
Patience...
http://www.jiskha.com/display.cgi?id=1236014864
oh yeah...just putting it out there...that website is ah-mazing for math help...TRY IT!!
To find the height of the tower using the given information, you will need to use trigonometry. However, the method you used is incorrect.
The correct method to solve the problem is by using the tangent function. Let's denote the height of the tower as "h". We can set up the following equation using the tangent ratio:
tan(63 degrees) = h / 18
To solve for "h", you can rearrange the equation as follows:
h = tan(63 degrees) * 18
Now let's calculate the height of the tower using this formula:
h = tan(63 degrees) * 18
h ≈ 31.038 feet
Therefore, the height of the tower is approximately 31.038 feet, not 3503 feet. This discrepancy likely arose from a calculation error in your initial attempt.
Always remember to double-check your calculations to avoid such mistakes.
To find the height of the tower, you can use the trigonometric function tangent (tan) to find the length of the tower. However, it seems that there might have been an error in your calculations.
To correct it, you need to rearrange the formula and use the properties of right triangles. Here's how you can solve it step by step:
1. Draw a diagram representing the situation. Label the height of the tower as "h", the distance from the base of the tower to the point on the ground as "18 feet," and the angle between the wire and the ground as "63 degrees."
2. Now, consider the right triangle formed by the tower, the wire, and the ground. The height of the tower is the opposite side, and the distance from the base to the point on the ground is the adjacent side.
3. Recall that the tangent function is defined as the ratio of the opposite side to the adjacent side in a right triangle. So, you correctly used the formula tan(63 degrees) = h/18.
4. To find the height of the tower, you need to isolate "h" in the equation. Multiply both sides of the equation by 18 to get rid of the fraction: 18 * tan(63 degrees) = h.
5. Now, you can calculate the height of the tower by substituting the values into the equation. Using a calculator, evaluate tan(63 degrees) ≈ 1.880726, and multiply it by 18: 1.880726 * 18 ≈ 33.853076.
Therefore, the height of the tower is approximately 33.85 feet, not 3503 feet. The error you made might have been due to a miscalculation or misunderstanding of the correct approach.