SOLUTION: A plane is flying at an altitude of 18,000 m. From the pilot, the angle of depression to the airport tower is 46�. How far is the tower from a point directly beneath the plane? Rou

Question 768489: A plane is flying at an altitude of 18,000 m. From the pilot, the angle of depression to the airport tower is 46�. How far is the tower from a point directly beneath the plane? Round your answer to the nearest whole number.
Found 2 solutions by Alan3354, stanbon:
Answer by Alan3354(69443) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
A plane is flying at an altitude of 18,000 m. From the pilot, the angle of depression to the airport tower is 46�. How far is the tower from a point directly beneath the plane? Round your answer to the nearest whole number.
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tan(46) = 18000/d

Answer by stanbon(75887) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
A plane is flying at an altitude of 18,000 m. From the pilot, the angle of depression to the airport tower is 46�. How far is the tower from a point directly beneath the plane? Round your answer to the nearest whole number.
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Draw the picture.
You have a right triangle with ground angle = 46 degrees
and altitude = 18000 meters.
Find the base of the triangle::::
tan(46) = 18000/base
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base = 18000/tan(46)
-----
base = 17,382.4 meters
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Cheers,
Stan H.
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