Question

A support beam needs to be placed at a 28° angle of elevation so that the top meets a vertical beam 1.6 meters above the horizontal floor. The vertical beam meets the floor at a 90° angle.
Law of sines:

Approximately how far from the vertical beam should the lower end of the support beam be placed along the horizontal floor?

3.0 meters
3.4 meters
3.9 meters
4.4 meters

Answer 1

The problem states that the law of sines needs to be used but the function tangent can also be used to solve this. Either way, the same answer will be obtained
Using the law of sines:
sin 28 / 1.6 = sin (180 - 28 - 90) / x
where x is the horizontal distance between the ends of the beams
Solving for x
x = 3.01 meters

The answer is
3.0 meters

Answer 2

Approximately the answer is 3.0 meters<span />