Question

Marion is observing the launch of a space shuttle from the command center. When she first sees the shuttle, the angle of elevation is 16 degrees. Later, the angle of elevation is 74 degrees. If the command center is 1 mile from the launch pad, how far did the shuttle travel while Marion was watching? Round to the nearest tenth of a mile

Answer 1

H1 = 1 * TAN(16deg) [Mi]
H2 = 1 * TAN(74deg) [Mi]

Delta H = H2 - H1 = TAN(74deg) - TAN(16deg) = 3.49 - 0.29 = 3.2 [Mi]