Question

Nick is stuck at the top of a ferris wheel. his mother is standing 38 feet from the base of the wheel watching him. if the angle of elevation from nick's mom to nick is 73 degrees, how far off the ground is nick?
A. 118.2 ft
B. 120.9 ft
C. 124.3 ft
D. 126.5 ft
E. 128.1 ft

Answer 1

Check the picture below.

make sure your calculator is in Degree mode.

Answer 2

Answer:

C. 124.3 ft

Step-by-step explanation:

Let h represent Nick's distance from ground.

We have been given that Nick is stuck at the top of a ferris wheel. his mother is standing 38 feet from the base of the wheel watching him. The angle of elevation from nick's mom to nick is 73 degrees.

Nick, his mother and angle of elevation forms a right triangle with respect to ground, where, h is opposite side and 38 feet is adjacent side.

$\text{tan}=\frac{\text{Opposite}}{\text{Hypotenuse}}$

$\text{tan}(73^{\circ})=\frac{h}{38}$

$\text{tan}(73^{\circ})*38=\frac{h}{38}*38$

$3.270852618484*38=h$

$h=3.270852618484*38$

$h=124.292399502392$

$h\approx 124.3$

Therefore, Nick is 124.3 feet above the ground.