A sailor on a boat spots a plane at an angle of elevation of 25 degrees. The horizontal distance from the boat to the plane is 75 yards. How high is the plane above the water?

Answer 1

To find the height of the plane above the water, we can use trigonometry. In this case, we are given the horizontal distance (adjacent side) and the angle of elevation (opposite side).

We can use the tangent function, which is defined as opposite/adjacent.

tan(25 degrees) = height/75 yards

height = 75 yards * tan(25 degrees)
height = 32.85 yards

Therefore, the plane is approximately 32.85 yards above the water.