Question 1169105: While taking a selfie at the top of the leaning tower of Pisa, Phoebe drops her phone. It falls to the ground and lands 3m from the base of the tower. If at that time, the tower was leaning at an angle of 87.1o to the ground. How far did the phone fall?
Answer by math_tutor2020(3817)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Draw out a right triangle with one leg horizontal and the other vertical. The lower acute angle is 87.1 degrees. The side opposite that angle is x, which is the height we're after (the distance the phone falls)
The horizontal component of this triangle is 3 meters. This is the horizontal distance from the base of the tower to the location where phone was dropped. This side is adjacent to the reference angle 87.1
To tie together the known adjacent side and unknown opposite side, we use the tangent rule
tan(angle) = opposite/adjacent
tan(87.1) = x/3
3*tan(87.1) = x
x = 3*tan(87.1)
x = 59.220872853199
x = 59.2
Make sure your calculator is in degree mode
I rounded to one decimal place since 87.1 is to one decimal place.
Answer: Roughly 59.2 meters
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