Download Name:_____________________________________ Date:_______ Period:______ Trigonometric Word Problems

Name:_____________________________________
Trigonometric Word Problems
Date:_______ Period:______
Ms. Anderle
Trigonometric Word Problems
Complete all work on a separate sheet of paper. Draw all diagrams.
1) A 20-foot ladder leaning against a vertical wall reaches to a height of 16 feet. What is the
value of the angle, to the nearest tenth of degree, that the ladder makes with the ground?
2) The angle of elevation from a point 10 feet away from the base of a tree on level ground to the
top of the tree is 46ο. How tall is the tree to the nearest tenth of a foot?
3) The Aerial run in Snowbird, Utah, has an angle of elevation of 20.2ο. Its vertical drop is 2900
feet. Estimate the length of this run to the nearest foot.
4) In order to construct a bridge across a river, the width of the river at that location must be
determined. Suppose a stake is planted on one side of the river directly across from a second
stake on the opposite side. At a distance 50 meters to the left of the stake, an angle of 82ο is
measured between the two stakes. Find the width of the river.
5) A ship is sighted from the Montauk lighthouse at an angle of depression of 62ο. How far from
Montauk is the ship if the lighthouse is 110.5 feet high?
6) James is on the fourth floor of a burning building. The stairs are blocked and the elevator is
not working. He finds a window whose base, he estimates, is 34 feet above the ground. He can
see the fire truck through the window at an angle of depression of 42°. If the base of the ladder
is 5 feet above the ground, how long must the ladder be extended to reach James?