Answer:
89.1° or -1.4°
Step-by-step explanation:
1. Location:
You are on the Mont-Saint-Jean escarpment, near the Belgian town of Waterloo.
The French troops are about 50 m below you and 1.2 km distant.
2. Finding the firing angle
Data:
R = 1200 m
u = 600 m/s
h = -50 m (the height of the target)
a = 9.8 m/s²
We have two conditions.
Horizontal distance
(1) 1200 = 600t cosθ
Vertical distance
(2) -50 = 600t sinθ - 4.9t²
Divide each side of (1) by 600cosθ.
Substitute (3) into (2)
Recall that
(5) sec²θ = 1/cos²θ = tan²θ + 1
Substitute (5) into (4)
Set up a quadratic equation
Solve for θ
Use the quadratic formula.
tanθ = 61.249 or -0.025
θ = arctan(61.249) = 89.1° or
θ = arctan(-0.025) = -1.4°