Question 1023576: If the sun is 28 deg above the horizon, find the length of a shadow cast by a building that is 495 feet tall.
Answer by Theo(13342)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! if the sun is 28 degrees above the horizon, then, for all practical purposes, the building forms a triangle where the angle opposite the vertical building is equal to 28 degrees.
the building is the side opposite the angle and the length of the shadow on the ground is the side adjacent to the angle.
the tangent of the angle is the side opposite the angle divided by the side adjacent to the angle.
if you let x equal the length of the side adjacent to the angle, then you get tangent of 28 degrees = 495 / x.
solve for x to get x = 495 / tangent of 28 degrees.
use your calculator to find that x = 930.9596003.
that's the length of the shadow on the ground.
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