SOLUTION: Jeremey sits on his back deck watching a plane prepare for landing. He is sitting 22 ft above the ground and he is 87 ft away from the big pine tree that defines his backyard. He n

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Question 324379: Jeremey sits on his back deck watching a plane prepare for landing. He is sitting 22 ft above the ground and he is 87 ft away from the big pine tree that defines his backyard. He notes that as the plane is directly over his pine tree he is looking at the plane with an angle that is about 60 degrees above horizontal. Given this info, find the height of the plane as it passes over Jeremy's pine.
Answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(22740) About Me  (Show Source):
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Jeremey sits on his back deck watching a plane prepare for landing.
He is sitting 22 ft above the ground and he is 87 ft away from the big pine tree that defines his backyard.
He notes that as the plane is directly over his pine tree he is looking at the
plane with an angle that is about 60 degrees above horizontal.
Given this info, find the height of the plane as it passes over Jeremy's pine.
:
A right triangle is formed by the observer, the tree, and the plane
Use the tangent of 60 degrees
Side opposite height (h) of the plane, (above the observer)
Side adjacent = 87 ft (dist to the tree)
:
Tan(60) = h%2F87
h = 87*tan(60)
h = 150.688 ft above the observer as it passes the tree
:
Observer is 22 ft above the ground, therefore:
150.688 + 22 = 172.688 ft plane is above the ground