SOLUTION: Help please! a blimp is 1300 meters high in the air and measures the angles of depression to two stadiums west of the blimp. If those measurements are 85.1 degrees and 26.5 deg

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Question 681273: Help please!
a blimp is 1300 meters high in the air and measures the angles of depression to two stadiums west of the blimp. If those measurements are 85.1 degrees and 26.5 degrees, how far apart are the two stadiums to the nearest meter?
Answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(22740) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
a blimp is 1300 meters high in the air and measures the angles of depression to two stadiums west of the blimp.
If those measurements are 85.1 degrees and 26.5 degrees, how far apart are the two stadiums to the nearest meter?
:
Find the interior angles formed by the two right triangles, find the distance from a point directly below the blimp to each stadium
:
let a = dist from this point to the stadium
90 - 85.1 = 4.9 degrees
Use the tangent of 4.9
tan(4.9) = a%2F1300
.08573a = 1300 * .08573
a = 111.45 meters
:
let b = dist from this point to the far stadium
90 - 26.5 = 63.5 degrees
use the tangent of 63.5
tan(63.5) = b%2F1300
b = 2.0057 * 1300
b = 2607.40 meters
:
Find the distance between the stadiums
2607.40 - 111.45 = 2495.94 meters
Use the tangent of 4.9
tan(4.9) = a%2F1300
.08573a = 1300 * .08573
a = 11.45 meter