New to the board. Can I get some guidance on a couple of questions?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around two physics problems involving angles of elevation and heights. The first problem concerns a person observing a building with an antenna, while the second involves two hot air balloons at different heights and their horizontal distance apart.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the use of trigonometric functions, specifically tangent and cosine, to relate angles and heights. There is an attempt to define variables for the heights involved in the first problem and to express relationships between them.

Discussion Status

Some participants have made progress on the second problem but are still seeking clarity on the first. There is an indication of collaborative exploration, with one participant providing a breakdown of the relationships between the variables involved in the first problem.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working under the constraints of homework rules, which may limit the amount of direct assistance they can provide. There is a noted discrepancy between the original poster's calculations and the expected results, prompting further discussion.

lsumatt
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Homework Statement


1) The drawing shows a person looking at a building on top of which an antenna is mounted. The horizontal distance between the person's eyes and the building is d = 68.0 m. In part a the person is looking at the base of the antenna, and his line of sight makes an angle of θ1 = 35.0° with the horizontal. In part b the person is looking at the top of the antenna, and his line of sight makes an angle of θ2 = 40.0° with the horizontal. How tall is the antenna?

2) The two hot air balloons in the drawing are 48.2 and h = 56.0 m above the ground. A person in the left balloon observes that the right balloon is θ = 13.4° above the horizontal. What is the horizontal distance x between the two balloons?


Homework Equations


for the first i used cos and the second problem i used tan



The Attempt at a Solution


i got 57.1 km for the fist and 235 m for the second. but it says both are wrong
 
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ok i got #2 but still stuck on 1
 
Let a be the height of the base of the antenna off the ground

Let b be the height of the top of the antenna off the ground

\tan35^{\circ} = \frac{a}{68.0}

\tan40^{\circ} = \frac{b}{68.0}

Now you have to solve for a and b and find b-a
 
thanks!
 
Last edited:

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