Question

A ship is headed directly toward a coastline formed by a vertical cliff (segment BC) that is 80 meters high. At point A, from the ship, the measure of the angle of elevation to the top of the cliff (B) is 10°. A few minutes later, at point D, the measure of the angle of elevation to the top of the cliff has increased to 20°.

Determine the following to the nearest meter.

Segment DC
Segment AC

Answer 1

tan 20 = 80/DC
tan 10 = 80/AC

DC = 80 / tan 20
AC = 80 / tan 10

Answer 2

DC=220 meters
AC=454 meters