Q:

Geometry please help 1 question ASAP, please :(A tree casts a shadow that is 60 feet long. There is a 32o angle of elevation from the tip of the shadow to the top of the tree. How tall is the tree?

Accepted Solution

A:
Answer:The tree is 37.5 ft tall.Step-by-step explanation:First, draw the tree and the ground and the line of the shadow forming a right triangle.Draw a vertical segment on the left side of your paper about 1 inch long. Label the bottom point C and the top point A. Now from C draw a horizontal segment to the right about twice the length of vertical segment AC. Label the right endpoint of the new segment B. Now connect B and A. The vertical segment AC is the tree. Segment CB is the shadow cast by the tree on the ground. Angle C is a right angle, 90 deg. Angle B measures 32 deg. Segment CB has length 60 ft. Now we start with trigonometry.Now we deal with triangle ABC. For the known angle B (given as 32 deg), side BC is the adjacent leg, side AC is the opposite leg, and side AB is the hypotenuse. We know the length of the shadow, which is adjacent leg BC, and it is 60 ft. We want to know side AC, which is the height of the tree and the opposite leg.Known: measure of angle B = 32 degKnown: adjacent leg BC = 60 ftFind: length of opposite leg ACThe trig ratio that relates the opposite and adjacent legs is the tangent.tan B = opp/adjtan 32 = AC/60AC = 60 * tan 32AC = 37.5Answer: The tree is 37.5 ft tall.