Question

A surveyor needs to determine the distance across the pond shown in the accompanying diagram. She determines that the distance from her position to point P on the south shore of the pond is 175 meters and the angle from her position to point X on the north shore is 32°. Determine the distance, PX, across the pond, rounded to the nearest meter.

Answer 1

I don't have the accompanying diagram. Could you either upload the diagram or clarify exactly which angle is 32° (the angle at the surveyor between the lines to P and X, the angle at P, or the angle at X)? Also confirm whether P and X are directly opposite shores (i.e. PX is a straight line across the pond) or give any other labelled distances/angles shown in the diagram.

If the intended interpretation is that the surveyor S sees P and X and the angle PSX (the angle at her position between SP and SX) is 32° and SP = 175 m, then I need one more piece of information (for example SX or one of the other angles) to determine PX. If you can confirm the diagram or provide that missing detail I’ll compute PX and round to the nearest meter.