Question

when the angle of elevation of the sun is 78 degrees, an Statue casts a shadow that is 6m long. How far is the top of the statue to the end of it's shadow? ​

Answer 1

Answer:

28.9 m

Step-by-step explanation:

First, we can draw a picture. The statue is on the right, with the top of the statue representing the top right corner of the triangle. The angle of elevation to the sun is 78 degrees, so the angle between the shadow and the top of the statue must be 78 degrees as well. Assuming there is no angle of elevation between the shadow and the statue, we can say that the shadow and statue form a 90 degree angle because the shadow is perfectly horizontal and the statue is perfectly vertical.

We are trying to find the hypotenuse of the triangle, or the length from the top of the statue to the end of the shadow. To do this, we can utilize the fact that

cos(x) = adjacent / hypotenuse

cos(78°) = 6 / hypotenuse

divide both sides by cos(78°) and multiply both sides by hypotenuse to solve for the hypotenuse

hypotenuse = 6/cos(78°) ≈ 28.9 m