Math  /  Geometry

Question4. The diagram shows a sketch of the cross section of an access ramp. What is the measure of the indicated angle in degrees?

Studdy Solution

STEP 1

What is this asking? We need to find the angle of elevation of a ramp that's 5 meters long and 2 meters high. Watch out! Make sure your calculator is in degree mode, not radians!
Also, don't mix up the sides of the triangle when using trigonometric functions.

STEP 2

1. Set up the trigonometric ratio.
2. Calculate the angle.

STEP 3

Alright, let's do this!
We've got a right triangle here, so we can use our trigonometric friends – sine, cosine, and tangent.
We know the **opposite side** (22 meters) and the **adjacent side** (55 meters) to the angle we're looking for.

STEP 4

Which trig function uses opposite and adjacent?
That's our pal **tangent**!
Remember: tangent is opposite over adjacent!
So, we can write: tan(θ)=oppositeadjacent\tan(\theta) = \frac{\text{opposite}}{\text{adjacent}}

STEP 5

Let's plug in our **values**: tan(θ)=25\tan(\theta) = \frac{2}{5} Awesome! We've set up our equation.
Now, let's solve for that angle!

STEP 6

To find the angle θ\theta, we need to use the **inverse tangent** (also called arctangent, denoted as arctan\arctan or tan1\tan^{-1}).
This function basically "undoes" the tangent, giving us the angle whose tangent is 2/52/5.

STEP 7

So, we have: θ=arctan(25)\theta = \arctan\left(\frac{2}{5}\right)

STEP 8

Now, grab your calculator, make sure it's in **degree mode**, and punch in those numbers!
You should get: θ21.80\theta \approx 21.80^\circ Boom! We found our angle!

STEP 9

The angle of elevation of the ramp is approximately 21.8021.80^\circ.

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