SOLUTION: You are stationed at a radar base and you observe an unidentified airplane at an alititude of 6000 meters. The plane is flying towards the radar base at an angle of elevation of 30

Question 549015: You are stationed at a radar base and you observe an unidentified airplane at an alititude of 6000 meters. The plane is flying towards the radar base at an angle of elevation of 30 degrees. After exactly one minute, the radar sweep reveals that the plane is now at an angle of elevation of 60 degrees and it is maintaining the same altitude. What is the speed of the plane in meters per second?
Answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(22740) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
an unidentified airplane at an alititude of 6000 meters.
The plane is flying towards the radar base at an angle of elevation of 30 degrees.
After exactly one minute, the radar sweep reveals that the plane is now at an angle of elevation of 60 degrees and it is maintaining the same altitude.
What is the speed of the plane in meters per second?
:
Use the tangent of the angle to find the distance (d) to a point directly below plane:
when the angle is 30 degrees
tan(30) =
d1 =
d1 = 10392.3 meters
when the angle is 60 degrees
tan(60) =
d2 =
d2 = 3464.1 meters
:
d1 - d2 = distance traveled by aircraft in 1 min
10392.3 - 3464.1 = 6928.2 m/min
convert to m/sec
= 115.47 m/sec
:

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