A person measures the height of a building by walking out a distance of 41.5 m f

Question

A person measures the height of a building by walking out a distance of 41.5 m from its base and shining a flashlight beam toward the top. When the beam is elevated at an angle of 44.4° with respect to the horizontal, as shown in the figure, the beam just strikes the top of the building. Find the height of the building and the distance the flashlight beam has to travel before it strikes the top of the building. (The flashlight is still 2.00 m above the ground.)

height =______m

r=_______ (pythagorean theorem)

height =______m

r=_______ (pythagorean theorem)

Explanation / Answer

Distance away from building, d = 41.5 m

Angle of light = 44.4°

Let height of building top fro flashlight level be h

Then tan 44.4 = h/d

=>h = 40.64 m

Height of the building = h+2 = 42.64 m (the additional 2 m comes from the height of flighlight above ground)

Distance light travels = d/cos 44.4 = 58.08 m

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse A
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.