Question

A destroyer on patrol spots an aircraft at an altitude of 10,000 ft and an angle of elevation of 20⁰. How far is the aircraft from the ship?
Round to the nearest whole number.

Answer 1

$sin= \frac{opp}{hyp} \\\\sin (20) = \frac{10000}{hyp}\\\\hyp= \frac{10000}{sin(20)} \\\\hyp= 29238 ft$

The aircraft is 29238 ft from the ship

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Note: this is based on my assumption that we are looking for the hypotenuse.

If we are looking for the adjacent side, then the answer would be 27475 ft.