SOLUTION: A bird catches a fish and flies 100 yards in a straight line at an angle of elevation x° from the ground. After flying for 100 yards, the bird drops the fish. The fish lands at a s

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Question 971510: A bird catches a fish and flies 100 yards in a straight line at an angle of elevation x° from the ground. After flying for 100 yards, the bird drops the fish. The fish lands at a spot y yards horizontally from where the bird caught it. What is x?
Answer by stanbon(75887) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
A bird catches a fish and flies 100 yards in a straight line at an angle of elevation x° from the ground. After flying for 100 yards, the bird drops the fish. The fish lands at a spot y yards horizontally from where the bird caught it. What is x?
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Draw the picture.
You have a right triangle with base = y, hypotenuse = 100,
acute angle at the base = x degrees
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Equation to solve for "x"
cos(x) = y/100
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Ans: x = arccos(y/100)
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Cheers,
Stan H.
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