Luke and Mason are standing 23 feet apart on the football field. Luke throws a high, slow pass to Mason. While the ball is in the air between them, each person notes the angle of elevation from himself to the ball. The angle of elevation from Luke is to the ball is 9°; from Mason to the ball is 13°. How far is the ball from Mason?

Answer 1

Draw triangle LBM where the ball is at B; angle B is 158°.

Using the law of sines, if the ball's distance from M is x, then

x/sin9° = 23/sin158°

Answer 2

Would it be 9.6 feet?

Answer 3

looks like our calculator agree!