draw a diagram. Label the two rocks R and S, and the tree T. And label the sides r,s,t in the usual way. We want to find RT (side s). Let h be the distance straight across the river.
h cotR + h cotS = 135
h/s = sinR
Now plug in your numbers to find s.
A surveyor wants to find the distance from a rock on east side of river to a tree across on the opposite bank. On east side he locates a rock 135 ft from first rock. From each rock he measures the angle between the line connecting the two rocks and the tree. The angle from first rock is 87 degrees and from the second rock is 82 degrees. Find the distance from the first rock to the tree.
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