A tree on a hillside casts a shadow c ft down the hill. If the angle of inclination of the hillside is b to the horizontal and the angle of elevation of the sun is a, find the height of the tree. Assume a = 48°, b = 18° c = 235 ft. (Round your answer to the nearest whole number.)

Answer 1

draw a diagram. You will see that

(h + c sin b)/(c cos b) = tan a
so,
(h + 235 sin 18°)/(235 cos 18°) = tan 48°
h = 175.6 ft