Prove mistake in measurements

[Alexander Lorien]

Mary is swimming in a lake when she spots two alligators. Mary tells you that her distance to Alligator 1 is 30 meters, the distance between the alligators is 20 meters, and the angle between them at Mary is 58 degrees. Show Mary that she must have made a mistake in her measurements.

 

[skeeter]

[MATH]30\sin(58^\circ) \approx 25.4 \, m[/MATH]
what does that tell you?

 

[JeffM]

Mary is swimming in a lake when she spots two alligators. Mary tells you that her distance to Alligator 1 is 30 meters, the distance between the alligators is 20 meters, and the angle between them at Mary is 58 degrees. Show Mary that she must have made a mistake in her measurements.

The important question is how far Mary is from shore.

 

[Alexander Lorien]

[MATH]30\sin(58^\circ) \approx 25.4 \, m[/MATH]
what does that tell you?

Can you explain it further how can I prove that she have made a mistake in measurements?

 

[Alexander Lorien]

The important question is how far Mary is from shore.

So how can I prove that Mary may have made a mistake in measurements?

 

[skeeter]

reference the diagram ...

Mary is at point A.
Angle A is 58 degrees
b = 30 m
a = 20 m
h = 30sin(58)

 

[Dr.Peterson]

So how can I prove that Mary may have made a mistake in measurements?

Presumably you have learned something about the SSA case in solving oblique triangles. If nothing else, you can do whatever you have learned to try to solve the triangle; you need to show that it can't be solved. What has been pointed out in #2 and #6 is a quick way to see it; but trying the Law of Sines is another.