A statue of Sir Isaax Newtion stands on a plinth. From a point 12m away, the angles of elevation of the bottom and the top of the statue are 36 degree and 42 degree respectively. Calculate the height of the statue.
+130511 Note that we have two triangles here. We know an angle in each triangle and the adjacent side to that angle in the two triangles - (12ft). And we want to know the opposite side in each triangle. So we can use the tangent function to find the opposite side in each case and add these together to get the total height.
So, the height is given by
h = 12tan(36) + 12tan(42) = about 19.5 ft.
+130511 Note that we have two triangles here. We know an angle in each triangle and the adjacent side to that angle in the two triangles - (12ft). And we want to know the opposite side in each triangle. So we can use the tangent function to find the opposite side in each case and add these together to get the total height.
So, the height is given by
h = 12tan(36) + 12tan(42) = about 19.5 ft.
