Draw a sketch of this question ; the angle of elevation of x from y is 30degree. If |xy|=40m how high is x above the level of y

1 answer

To sketch this scenario, follow these steps:

  1. Draw a horizontal line to represent the level of point Y. Label this line as the ground level.

  2. Place point Y on the left side of the horizontal line. This is the point from which the angle of elevation is measured.

  3. From point Y, draw a line at an angle of 30 degrees above the horizontal line towards point X. This line represents the line of sight from Y to X.

  4. Mark the point X somewhere above the horizontal line along the line of sight from Y.

  5. Draw a vertical line from point X down to the horizontal line (ground level), and label this line as the height (h) from Y to X.

  6. Label the distance |XY| as 40 meters along the line of sight (the hypotenuse of the triangle formed by Y, X, and the point directly below X on the ground).

Now, to find the height of X above the level of Y, you can use trigonometry. Specifically, you can use the sine function:

\[ \sin(\theta) = \frac{\text{opposite}}{\text{hypotenuse}} \]

For this problem:

  • \(\theta = 30^\circ\)
  • The opposite side (height) is what we want to find, let's call it \(h\).
  • The hypotenuse |XY| is 40 m.

Using the sine function:

\[ \sin(30^\circ) = \frac{h}{40} \]

Since \(\sin(30^\circ) = \frac{1}{2}\):

\[ \frac{1}{2} = \frac{h}{40} \]

Now, solving for \(h\):

\[ h = 40 \times \frac{1}{2} = 20 m \]

Thus, point X is 20 meters above the level of point Y.

You can visualize this setup by imagining a right triangle where:

  • The angle at Y is 30 degrees,
  • The hypotenuse (|XY|) is 40 m,
  • The vertical height (h) from Y to X is 20 m.