Sketch a diagram describing the given situation. Then recall the definition of tangent.
≈ 86.6 feet
Practice makes perfect
We are given that Jen wants to know the height of a cell-phone tower, which we will call h. We also know that she walked 50 feet from the tower, and the angle of elevation from her position to the top of the tower is 60^(∘). Let's sketch a diagram describing the given situation.
To find the value of h, we can use one of the trigonometric ratios. Let's recall that the tangent of ∠ A is the ratio of the leg opposite ∠ A to the leg adjacent ∠ A. Using this definition, we can create an equation for tan 60^(∘).
tan 60^(∘)=h/50
Let's solve the above equation.
