Question

I cant seem to figure out the answer for this question:

One of the tallest totem poles in the world is located in Alert Bay, British Columbia. When the angle of elevation of the sun is 62°, the totem pole casts a shadow of 30m.

a) Suppose the totem is vertical. How tall is the totem pole, to the nearest tenth of a metre? Show calculation and state answer.

b) Suppose it was not quite vertical, so that it makes an angle of 89° with the ground. In this case, would your answer for its height be taller or shorter than your answer in a)? Justify your calculations.

Answer 1

(a) h/30 = tan62°
(b) the effective height h' of the pole can be found using
h'/h = sin89°
Now, as in (a), h'/30 = tan62°, or
h sin89°/30 = tan62°