Angles of Elevation and Depression: Examples
Examples, solutions, videos, worksheets, and activities to help students learn how to find the angle of elevation and depression using trigonometry.
The following figures show some examples of angle of elevation and angle of depression. Scroll down the page for more examples and solutions on solving problems with angle of elevation or angle of depression.
Angles of Depression and Elevation
Learn about angles of depression and elevation.
Find the height of a dam using angle of elevation and the height of a helicopter using the concept of angle of depression
Examples:
- From a point 340 m from the base of Hoover Dam, the angle of elevation to the top of the dam is 33 degrees. Find the height of the dam to the nearest meter.
- A helicopter pilot sights a life raft. The angle of depression is 28 degrees and the helicopter’s altitude is 2.5 km
(a) Draw a figure to represent the situation.
(b) What is the horizontal distance from the helicopter to the raft?
(c) If the helicopter flies at a constant speed of 200 km/hr, how long will it be before it is directly above the raft? Assume that the altitude of the helicopter doesn’t change.
Trigonometry Word Problems
Students solve word problems using sine, cosine, and tangent. The terms angle of elevation and angle of depression are also introduced in this lesson.
Example:
Neil sees a rocket at an angle of elevation of 11°. If Neil is located 5 miles from the rocket’s launchpad, how high is the rocket? Round your answer to the nearest hundredth.
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