Question 428038
two masts are 20 m and 12 m high.if the line joining their tops make an angle of 35 degree with the horizontal;
 find their distance apart.
: 
Draw this out, you can see a right triangle is is formed by the horizontal line between the poles, the line drawn between the tops of the poles (hypotenuse) and a side of 8', the difference in the height of the poles.
:
Find the interior angle formed by the line joining the tops
90 - 35 = 55 degrees
:
Use the tangent which is the side opposite/side adjacent.
:
Side adjacent = 8', find side opposite (d) (horizontal dist between the poles)
tan(55) = {{{d/8}}}
1.428 = {{{d/8}}}
d = 1.428 * 8
d = 11.425 ft between the poles