Question

Question: You and a friend decide to set up a volleyball net in your backyard. Each pole that holds the net has a string to secure it to the ground for stability. If the pole is 8 feet tall after being placed in the ground and the stability string is 12 feet long, what is the approximate angle formed between the pole and the string? (1 point)  

Responses:

42°

90°

48°

73°

Answer 1

Let θ be the angle between the pole (8 ft) and the string (12 ft). In the right triangle, cos θ = adjacent/hypotenuse = 8/12 = 2/3. So

θ = arccos(2/3) ≈ 48°.

Answer: 48°.