SOLUTION: A passenger in an airplane at an altitude of 10 kilometers sees two towns directly to the east of the plane. The angle of depression of town a is 55 degrees and the angle of depres

Algebra ->  Trigonometry-basics -> SOLUTION: A passenger in an airplane at an altitude of 10 kilometers sees two towns directly to the east of the plane. The angle of depression of town a is 55 degrees and the angle of depres      Log On


   



Question 317421: A passenger in an airplane at an altitude of 10 kilometers sees two towns directly to the east of the plane. The angle of depression of town a is 55 degrees and the angle of depression of town b is 28 degrees. How far apart are the towns?
Answer by Fombitz(32388) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!

Use trigonometry.
tan%2855%29=OPP%28a%29%2FADJ
OPP%28a%29=10tan%2855%29=14.28 km
.
.
.
tan%2828%29=OPP%28b%29%2FADJ
OPP%28b%29=10%2Atan%2828%29=5.32 km
.
.
.
DELTA=14.28-5.32=8.96 km