Angle of Depression equation...

[Aimeefe55]

A park ranger can see two campfires exactly aligned with his observation tower. One of the campfires is at an angle of depression of 31.6 degrees, while the other is at 19.2 degrees. If the eye level of the ranger is 37.6 ft from the ground, how far from each other are the two campfires? Round your answer to the nearest foot.

I tried to look for examples like this in my math book, but I found nothing. I do know all the Soh, Cah, Toa equations, I just don't know it fits in here? Or if there is something new that I need to find the answer??

-Aimee

 

[tkhunny]

Angle of Elevation
Angle of Depression

These angles are ALWAYS measured from the horizontal.

1) Draw a tower with ranger on top. Note the eye-level fo the ranger as 37.6 ft
2) Draw two fires off in teh distance.
3) Draw a horizontal line from the ranger's eyes untill it passes over BOTH fires.
4) Draw a line from the ranger's eyes to the first fire.
5) The angle you just created, from the horizontal to this new line, is the angle of depression 31.6º.

Keep going. Let's see what you get.