A soccer ball is placed 12 ft away from a goal post that measures 8ft high. You kick the ball and it hits the crossbar at the top of the goal. What was the angle of elevation of your kick?

Answer 1

tanθ = 8/12

roughly. θ actually needs to be slightly more, because the ball falls some due to gravity. But, a little investigation should convince you that the discrepancy caused by gravity can be eliminated because of the ball's diameter, given proper conditions.