SOLUTION: You are stationed at a radar base and you observe an unidentified airplane at an alititude of 6000 meters. The plane is flying towards the radar base at an angle of elevation of 30

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Question 549015: You are stationed at a radar base and you observe an unidentified airplane at an alititude of 6000 meters. The plane is flying towards the radar base at an angle of elevation of 30 degrees. After exactly one minute, the radar sweep reveals that the plane is now at an angle of elevation of 60 degrees and it is maintaining the same altitude. What is the speed of the plane in meters per second?
Answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(22740) About Me  (Show Source):
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an unidentified airplane at an alititude of 6000 meters.
The plane is flying towards the radar base at an angle of elevation of 30 degrees.
After exactly one minute, the radar sweep reveals that the plane is now at an angle of elevation of 60 degrees and it is maintaining the same altitude.
What is the speed of the plane in meters per second?
:
Use the tangent of the angle to find the distance (d) to a point directly below plane:
when the angle is 30 degrees
tan(30) = 6000%2Fd
d1 = 6000%2Ftan%2830%29
d1 = 10392.3 meters
when the angle is 60 degrees
tan(60) = 6000%2Fd
d2 = 6000%2Ftan%2860%29
d2 = 3464.1 meters
:
d1 - d2 = distance traveled by aircraft in 1 min
10392.3 - 3464.1 = 6928.2 m/min
convert to m/sec
6928.2%2F60 = 115.47 m/sec
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