Deshaun is looking up at a flag that is 50 feet away from him at an angle of elevation from ground level of 35° What is the flagpole’s height, x, and the distance between Deshaun and the top of the flagpole, y?(1 point)

Responses

x=71.41 ft.and y=87.17 ft.
x equals 71.41 ft. and x equals 87.17 ft.

x=35.01 ft. and y=35.70 ft.
x equals 35.01 ft. and x equals 35.70 ft.

x=35.01 ft. and y=61.04 ft.
x equals 35.01 ft. and x equals 61.04 ft.

x=61.04 ft. and y=35.01 ft.

1 answer

To find the height of the flagpole \( x \) and the distance \( y \) from Deshaun to the top of the flagpole, we can use some basic trigonometry.

  1. Finding the height of the flagpole (x): We can use the tangent function, which is defined as the ratio of the opposite side to the adjacent side in a right triangle. In this case, the height of the flagpole is the opposite side, and the distance to the flagpole is the adjacent side.

    \[ \tan(\theta) = \frac{\text{opposite}}{\text{adjacent}} \] where \( \theta \) is the angle of elevation, opposite is the height \( x \), and adjacent is the distance (50 feet).

    \[ \tan(35^\circ) = \frac{x}{50} \]

    Solving for \( x \):

    \[ x = 50 \cdot \tan(35^\circ) \]

    Using a calculator to find \( \tan(35^\circ) \):

    \[ x \approx 50 \cdot 0.7002 \approx 35.01 \text{ ft} \]

  2. Finding the distance to the top of the flagpole (y): We can use the hypotenuse of the triangle, which can be found using the cosine function. The hypotenuse \( y \) is calculated as follows:

    \[ \cos(\theta) = \frac{\text{adjacent}}{\text{hypotenuse}} \] where the adjacent side is 50 feet, and we want to find \( y \).

    Rearranging gives:

    \[ y = \frac{50}{\cos(35^\circ)} \]

    We know \( \cos(35^\circ) \approx 0.8192 \):

    \[ y \approx \frac{50}{0.8192} \approx 61.04 \text{ ft} \]

With these calculations, we find:

  • The height of the flagpole \( x \approx 35.01 \text{ ft} \)
  • The distance to the top of the flagpole \( y \approx 61.04 \text{ ft} \)

Thus, the correct response is:

x = 35.01 ft. and y = 61.04 ft.