tan 56 = h/x = 1.4826
tan 38 = h/(9.4-x) = .78129
solve for x and h
if someone could please help that would be muchly appreciated.
A group of mountain climbers are using trigonometry to find the height of a mountain located in the rockies. From point A, which is due west of the mountain, the angle of elevation to the top is 56 degrees. From point B, which is due east of the mountain, the angle of elevation to the top is 38 degrees. Points A and B are 9.4 km apart. Determine the height of the mountain and round to the nearest metre.
3 answers
Sketch it out, and you should find that if the height of the mountain is h, and the distance from the base of it to point A (which must be nearer than B) is a, then h/a = tan(56 Deg), and h/(9.4+a) = tan(38 Deg). Both of those tangents can be looked up in tables, so you should get two equations in h and a, which you can solve. Don't worry about the west and east bit: I reckon that's a red herring. A and B could just as easily be on the same line towards the base of the mountain.
thank you
1 answer