Ella is standing on the ground looking up toward the top of a tower. Her eye level is 5.5 feet above the ground and her sightline form a 21 degree angle while looking at the top of the tower. The direct distance from her eyes to the top of tower is 46 feet

1 answer

To find the height of the tower, we can use the tangent function.

Let h be the height of the tower.

According to the given information, Ella's eye level is 5.5 feet above the ground, forming a 21 degree angle with her sightline. The sightline is the line segment connecting Ella's eyes with the top of the tower.

We can set up the following equation:

tan(21°) = h / 46

Using a calculator, we find that tan(21°) ≈ 0.382.

0.382 = h / 46

To find h, we can rearrange the equation:

h = 0.382 * 46

h ≈ 17.612

Therefore, the height of the tower is approximately 17.612 feet.