Question

A pole, 4m high, as shown in figure 2, stands, vertically, on
level ground. If the sun is at an angle of 30° to the horizontal,
how long is the shadow.

Use the tangent ratio to solve the problem.​

Answer 1

Answer: 6.92 m

Step-by-step explanation:

Assuming the image is the attached below, we have a right triangle, where one of the legs is the 4 m high pole and the other leg the shadow.

Now, the tangent function is defined as:

$tan \theta=\frac{Opposite-leg}{Adjacent-leg}$

Since the Sun is at an angle $\theta=30\°$ and the adjacent leg is the shadow $s$ we have:

$tan(30\°)=\frac{4 m}{s}$

Isolating $s$:

$s=\frac{4 m}{tan(30\°)}$

$s=6.92 m$ This is the length of the shadow