Question

A man 2 m tall walks horizontally at a constant rate of 1 m/s toward the base of a tower 23 m tall. When the man is 10 m from the tower, at what rate is the angle of elevation changing if that angle is measured from the horizontal to the line joining the top of the man's head to the top of the tower? (Round your answer to three decimal places.)

Answer 1

Answer:

$\dfrac{d\theta}{dt}=0.038\ rad/s$

Explanation:

Given that

$\dfrac{dx}{dt}= -1\ m/s$

From the diagram

$tan\theta=\dfrac{21}{x}$

By differentiating with time t

$sec^2\theta \dfrac{d\theta}{dt}=-\dfrac{21}{x^2}\dfrac{dx}{dt}$

When x= 10 m

$tan\theta=\dfrac{21}{10}$

θ = 64.53°

Now by putting the value in equation

$sec^2\theta \dfrac{d\theta}{dt}=-\dfrac{21}{x^2}\dfrac{dx}{dt}$

$sec^264.53^{\circ} \dfrac{d\theta}{dt}=-\dfrac{21}{10^2}\times (-1)$

$\dfrac{d\theta}{dt}=0.038\ rad/s$

Therefore rate of change in the angle is 0.038\ rad/s