Question

Wendy is standing 60 feet away from a tree. Her eyes are 5 feet above the ground. She sees a bird hovering above a tree. The angle of elevation to the top of the tree is 25 degrees and the angle of elevation to the bird is 37 degrees. How tall is the tree. How high is the bird in the air? How far above the tree is the bird?Step by step explanation.. Please

Answer 1

The bird is 17 feet above the tree.

Explanation:

We need to think of this in terms of right triangles.  If Wendy is 60 feet from a tree, the base of the right triangle is 60 feet.  The height of the tree is the height of the right triangle.  The angle of elevation is the one from the ground at her feet to the top of the tree and then to the bird.  Let's start with the top of the tree first.

She's 60 feet away, we have the angle of elevation as 25 degrees, and we are looking for the height of the tree.  In regards to the angle, the base of 60 is adjacent, and the height of the tree is opposite.  The tangent ratio is height / base.

Let x be the height of the tree.

So,

$tan (25) = \frac{x}{60}$

$60 tan(25) = x\\\\x = 27.9 feet$

x is approximately 28 feet

Since, Wendy's eyes are 5 feet above the ground, the height of the tree becomes

28 + 5 = 33 feet

For bird

Let y be the height of the bird in the air

$tan(37) = \frac{y}{60} \\\\60 tan(37) = y\\\\y = 45.2 feet$

y is approximately 45 feet

Since, Wendy's eyes are 5 feet above the ground, the height of the tree becomes

45 + 5 = 50 feet

To know how far above the tree that bird is

50 - 33 = 17 feet

Therefore, the bird is 17 feet above the tree.