A sailor on a boat is looking at a kite. If he is looking at the kite at an angle of elevation of 47 degrees. The kite is directly above a fish in the water. If the sailor is 40 feet from the fish, then how high above the fish is the kite?

Question

Mathematics

Monserrat Eaton

30 June, 18:33

A sailor on a boat is looking at a kite. If he is looking at the kite at an angle of elevation of 47 degrees. The kite is directly above a fish in the water. If the sailor is 40 feet from the fish, then how high above the fish is the kite?

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Emma · Answer 1

Answer: The kite is 43 feet (approximately) above the fish

Step-by-step explanation: The sailor is said to be 40 feet away from a fish in the water, and he is looking up at a kite at an angle of elevation of 47 degrees. We can derive a right angled triangle from this bit of information. This means the distance from the kite to the fish down below is the line facing the reference angle (opposite). The reference angle itself is 47 degrees and the line between the reference angle and the right angle (adjacent) is 40.

We shall apply the trigonometric ratio to solve for the unknown height which we shall call h.

Tan 47 = opposite/adjacent

Tan 47 = h/40

1.0724 = h/40

1.0724 x 40 = h

42.896 = h

Approximately, the kite is 43 feet above the fish.