A small mirror is attached to a vertical wall, and it hangs a distance of 1.54 m

Question

A small mirror is attached to a vertical wall, and it hangs a distance of 1.54 m above the floor. The mirror is facing due east, and a ray of sunlight strikes the mirror early in the morning and then again later in the morning. The incident and reflected rays lie in a plane that is perpendicular to both the wall and the floor. Early in the morning, the reflected ray strikes the floor at a distance of 3.60 m from the base of the wall. Later on in the morning, the ray is observed to strike the floor at a distance of 1.32 m from the wall. The earth rotates at a rate of 15.0? per hour. How much time (in hours) has elapsed between the two observations?

Explanation / Answer

1 = arctan(3.12/1.59) = 62.99591

2 = acan(1.29/1.59) = 39.053137

= 62.99591 - 39.053137 = 23.942773

t = /15 = 23.942773/15 = 1.60 hours

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