Angles of Elevation and Depression
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Date______________Period___
1. A ramp 18 ft long rises to a loading platform that is 3 ft above the ground. Find to the
nearest tenth of a degree, the angle that the ramp makes with the ground.
2. A passenger in a helicopter shines a light on a car stranded 45 ft from a point just below the
helicopter. If the helicopter is hovering at 85 ft, what is the angle of depression from the light
source to the car?
3. To illuminate the entrance of an apartment building, a night light is mounted on a 6.6 m
pole. If the base of the pole is 24 m from the entrance, find the angle of depression from the
light.
4. A basketball goal 10 ft high casts a shadow 36 ft long in the afternoon sun. Determine the
angle of elevation to the sun.
5. A large totem pole near Kalama, Washington is 121 ft tall. On a particular day at noon it
casts a 219 ft shadow. What is the sun’s angle of elevation at the time?
6. The pilot of your helicopter has just announced that you are flying at an altitude of 1500 ft.
If the launch pad where you are to land is 9000 ft away, at what angle of depression should you
fly to reach the pad in the shortest time?
7. A 6 ft man walking directly into the sun turns around and notices that he casts a shadow
that is 24 ft long. Calculate the angle of elevation to the sun.
8. The distance from the foot of a hill to its top measures along a straight road is 1000 ft. The
height of the hill is 158 ft. Find the angle at which the road rises with the ground to the nearest
degree.
9. Tyne walks 5 m due east and then 12 m due north. To the nearest degree, what direction is
Tyne from her starting point?
10. An 8 meter pole is leaning against a tree. The foot of the pole is 5 meters from the foot of
the tree. What angle does the pole make with the tree? See the figure here.