A helicopter flying 1,600 feet above the ground spots an airplane flying above. If the horizontal distance between the helicopter and airplane is 3,055 feet and the angle of elevation is 71°, find the airplane’s altitude.
+128406 Let the height of the plane above the helicopter be "h"
We have a right triangle where the side opposite the 71 degree angle = h and the side adjacent to this angle = 3055
So we can use the tangent here
tan (71) = h / 3055 multiply both sides by 3055
3055 * tan (71) = h ≈ 8872.4 ft
So.......the total altitude of the plane is
1600 + 8872.4 =
10472. 4 ft
