A boat is heading towards a lighthouse, where Taylor is watching from a vertical distance of 118 feet above the water. Taylor measures an angle of depression to the boat at point
A
A to be 12


. At some later time, Taylor takes another measurement and finds the angle of depression to the boat (now at point
B
B) to be 74


. Find the distance from point
A
A to point
B
B. Round your answer to the nearest foot if necessary

Respuesta :

Using the slope concept, it is found that the distance from point A to point B is of 521 feet.

What is a slope?

The slope is given by the vertical change divided by the horizontal change.

It's also the tangent of the angle of depression.

In this problem, the vertical change is of 118 feet.

At point A, the angle is of 12º, while the horizontal position is of [tex]x_A[/tex], hence:

[tex]\tan{12^\circ} = \frac{118}{x_A}[/tex]

[tex]x_A = \frac{118}{\tan{12^\circ}}[/tex]

[tex]x_A = 555.1[/tex]

At point B, the angle is of 74, while the horizontal position is of [tex]x_B[/tex], hence:

[tex]\tan{74^\circ} = \frac{118}{x_B}[/tex]

[tex]x_B = \frac{118}{\tan{74^\circ}}[/tex]

[tex]x_B = 33.84[/tex]

The distance in feet is of:

[tex]d = x_A - x_B = 555.1 - 33.84 \approx 521[/tex]

More can be learned about the slope concept at https://brainly.com/question/18090623