SOLUTION: (8) While returning from a chartered fishing trip, Jason decides to make a bungee jump off the harbor bridge. When he gets the sextant out of the case, the boat is passing the chan

Question 54100: (8) While returning from a chartered fishing trip, Jason decides to make a bungee jump off the harbor bridge. When he gets the sextant out of the case, the boat is passing the channel bouy, which is 40 yards beyond the bridge. He accurately measures a 45 degree angle from the horizon up to the jump off point on the bridge. All of his bungee cords stretch twice their measured length. Which bungee cord would give him the maximum safe jump?

Answer by Earlsdon(6294) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
You can use a little trigonometry to solve this problem.
Imagine a right triangle in which the perpendicular height of the bridge above the river surface is the height (h) of the triangle.
The distance (d) from the channel bouy (40 yds) is the base of the right triangle.
The hypotenuse would be the line-of-sight from the bouy to the bridge.
The angle (of elevation) between the base and the hypotenuse was measured at 45 degrees.
Use the fact that the tangent of this angle is the ratio of the side opposite the angle (that's the height of the bridge) over the side adjacent to the angle (that's the base).
But the tangent of 45 degrees = 1, so:
and
yds. This is the height of the bridge above the river surface.
Since the bungee stretches to twice its measured length, then Jason should use a 20-yard (60-foot) bungee for his jump.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Solve each application problem algebraically. Jimmy jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge,... (answered by ikleyn,Alan3354)

A bungee jumper plummets from a high bridge to the river below and then bounces back over (answered by greenestamps,ewatrrr,MathLover1)

A bungee jumper plummets from a high bridge to the river below and then bounces back over (answered by Alan3354)

billy jumped off the bridge, 70 ft above the water, with a bungee cord tied to his legs. (answered by jsmallt9)

a bungee jumper leaps off a cliff 122 meters from the ground. her cord, when fully... (answered by stanbon)

A ship is coming into a harbor on an unusually high tide. The ship has to pass under the... (answered by ankor@dixie-net.com)

When u jump from the deck of the chartered boat u are 6 feet above the oceans surface.... (answered by Alan3354)

Mike wants to buy a new car. He is able to negotiate a price of $21,500. He can secure a... (answered by jorel1380,MathTherapy)

Please help. I have been trying to make sense if this for days now. Question : A 50ft... (answered by bmauger)