document.write( "Question 78644: Hi every one I have this word trigonometry question and I understand I will like a help with this question.\r
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "What is the angle of elevation of the sun when a 35-ft mast casts a 20-ft shadow?
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Algebra.Com's Answer #56399 by Earlsdon(6294)\"\" \"About 
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
It helps to draw a picture of the situation:
\n" ); document.write( "The 35-ft. mast forms the upright leg of a right triangle while the 20-ft. shadow forms the base of the same right triangle.
\n" ); document.write( "The angle of elevation of the sun is the angle between the base (shadow) and the hypotenuse of this right triangle. Let's call this angle A.
\n" ); document.write( "Now, since you know the length of the side opposite angle A (35 ft.) and the length of the side adjacent to angle A (20 ft.), you can use the Tangent function to find the measure of angle A.
\n" ); document.write( "Recall the acronym:
\n" ); document.write( "SohCahToa (o:opposite side, a:adjacent side, h:hypotenuse)
\n" ); document.write( "Sin = o/h
\n" ); document.write( "Cosine = a/h
\n" ); document.write( "Tangent = o/a
\n" ); document.write( "So, you can write:
\n" ); document.write( "\"Tan%28A%29+=+35%2F20\"
\n" ); document.write( "But you really want the angle (A) whose tangent is 35/20, so
\n" ); document.write( "\"A+=+Tan%5E%28-1%29%2835%2F20%29\" This is known as the Arctangent and you should have this key on your calculator. If not, use INV TAN
\n" ); document.write( "\"A+=+60.255\"degrees.
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