Question

A person is watching a boat from the top of a lighthouse. The boat is approaching the lighthouse directly. When first noticed, the angle of depression to the boat is 14°52'. When the boat stops, the angle of depression is 45°10'. The lighthouse is 200 feet tall. How far did the boat travel from when it was first noticed until it stopped? Round your answer to the hundredths place.

Answer 1

The boat's travel from when it was first noticed until it stopped is 554.89 ft.

What is trigonometry?

Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics that deals with the relationship between sides and angles of a right-angle triangle.

We have:

A person is watching a boat from the top of a lighthouse. The boat is approaching the lighthouse directly.

From the given information we can draw a right-angle triangle.

14°52' = 14 + 0.86 = 14.86 degree

45°10' = 45 + 0.16 = 45.16 degree

In the right-angle triangle ACD

tan14.86 = 200/AC

AC = 753.772 ft

In the right-angle triangle DBC:

tan45.16 = 200/CB

CB = 198.886 ft

AB = AC - CB

AB =  753.772 ft - 198.886 ft

AB = 554.886 ≈ 554.89 ft

Thus, the boat's travel from when it was first noticed until it stopped is 554.89 ft.

Learn more about trigonometry here:

brainly.com/question/26719838

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