Question

An observer (O) is located 500 feet from a school (S). The observer notices a bird (B) flying at a 39° angle of elevation from his line of sight. How high is the bird flying over the base of the school and how far is the observer (O) from the bird (B)? You must show all work and calculations to receive full credit. Round your answer to the nearest foot. (10 points)

Answer 1

Answer:

h=404.89

Step-by-step explanation:

We are looking for side h, which is opposite of the observer. We know that the side adjacent to the observer is 500 feet. We also know that the angle from the observer to the bird is 39°. Because we have these values, SOH CAH TOA tells us that we should use tangent, opposite over adjacent.

We can set up our equation as follows:

tan(39°)=h/500

We can then solve for h:

500*tan(39°)=h

h=404.89