A spy stands on the sidewalk by an apartment building examining a foreign embassy across the street. The spy then climbs 30 m to the top the building and then slides 40 m along a wire at a 20° angle below right to reach a window on the embassy. What is their total displacement from the sidewalk to the embassy window?

Question

A spy stands on the sidewalk by an apartment building examining a foreign embassy across the street.  The spy then climbs 30 m to the top the building and then slides 40 m along a wire at a 20° angle below right to reach a window on the embassy.  What is their total displacement from the sidewalk to the embassy window?

the resultant i got qas 113.229, did anyone else get this?
after the spy climbs up i im not sure which way the spy goes down, i made him go south east (20 South of East) is this correct?

Steve · Accepted Answer

vertical distance along the wire:
h/40 = sin20°
h = 13.68

width of street:
w/40 = cos20°
w = 37.59

distance from sidewalk to window:

d^2 = w^2+(30-h)^2
= 37.59^2 + (30-13.68)^2
= 1679.35
d = 40.98

Not sure how you got such a large number. The wire was only 40, so the street has to be less than that.
He climbed up 30 and slid down, so he has to be at less than 30 upwards.

Given maximum values he'd only be √(30^2+40^2) = 50 from the window.

jack · Answer

yea i was thinking that too,