Question

Two boats are spotted by a Coast Guard helicopter. The helicopter is 150 yards above the water. The angles of depression are 12.5° and 15.3°. How far apart are the boats? (The boats are in the same general direction from the helicopter.) Pls help i have 7 of these types of questions and i have gotten them all wrong..

Answer 1

First is always draw a diagram. Then review your basic trig functions. It should be clear that the distance between the boats is

150 cot 12.5° - 150 15.3°

You will also see this problem where you want to find the height, given the distance between two points on the ground.

Answer 2

275.46