Problema Solution
A plane is flying at an elevation of 34000 feet.
It is within sight of the airport and the pilot finds that the angle of depression to the airport is 19 ^\circ.
Find the distance between the plane and the airport.
Find the distance between a point on the ground directly below the plane and the airport.
Answer provided by our tutors
let
h = 34,000 ft the elevation
angle A = 19 degrees the angle of depression
d = the distance between the plane and the airport
g = the distance between a point on the ground directly below the plane and the airport
make a good drawing and notice the right triangle
h/d = sin(A)
d = h/(sin(A))
d = 34000/(sin(19))
d = 104,433 ft
click here to see the step by step calculation:
the distance between the plane and the airport 104,433 ft.
g/h = 1/(tan(A))
g = h/(tan(A))
g = 34000/(tan(19))
g = 98,743 ft
click here to see the step by step calculation:
the distance between a point on the ground directly below the plane and the airport is 98,743 ft.