SOLUTION: I have done several of these but this one has me stumped? You are standing 1214 feet from a building. A helicopter is hovering between you and the building. The angle of elevati

Algebra ->  Trigonometry-basics -> SOLUTION: I have done several of these but this one has me stumped? You are standing 1214 feet from a building. A helicopter is hovering between you and the building. The angle of elevati      Log On


   

Question 134643: I have done several of these but this one has me stumped?
You are standing 1214 feet from a building. A helicopter is hovering between you and the building. The angle of elevation from you to the helicopter is 56 degrees and from the base of the building the angle is 27 degrees. How far is the helicopter from you?
Answer by vleith(2983) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Drop an imaginary vertical line from the helicopter to the ground. call that distance X. At the point where that line touches the ground, it breaks the distance bewtwen the building and you into two parts. Let the part between that point and the building be l. That makes the segment between you and the point 1214-l
Tan(27)= (X/l)
Tan(56) = (X/(1214-l))
X is the same in both equations.
So
Tan(27)* l = Tan(56) * (1214 -l)
Now solve for l using your calculator.
Once you have the value for l, use it to find the value of X.
Then to find the distance from you to the 'copter, use Pythagoras with legs (1214-l and X).
Let me know if you still can't get it