A 20-foot-tall flagpole casts a 13-foot shadow on the ground. What is the angle of elevation from the tip of the shadow to the top of the flagpole? Round to the nearest whole degree.A 20-foot-tall flagpole casts a 13-foot shadow on the ground. What is the angle of elevation from the tip of the shadow to the top of the flagpole? Round to the nearest whole degree.

Answer 1

To find the angle of elevation, we can use the tangent function:

tan(angle) = opposite/adjacent

In this case, the opposite side is the height of the flagpole (20 feet) and the adjacent side is the length of the shadow (13 feet). So:

tan(angle) = 20/13

Now, we need to find the angle whose tangent is approximately 20/13. Using a calculator, we find that:

angle ≈ tan^-1(20/13) ≈ 56.31 degrees

Rounded to the nearest whole degree, the angle of elevation is 56 degrees.