In an A-frame house, a bullet is found embedded at a point 8ft up the sloped wall. If it was fired at a 30∘ angle with the horizontal, how far from the base of the wall was the gun fired?
Q. In an A-frame house, a bullet is found embedded at a point 8ft up the sloped wall. If it was fired at a 30∘ angle with the horizontal, how far from the base of the wall was the gun fired?
Identify Bullet Position: We know the bullet is 8ft up the sloped wall and the angle of elevation is 30 degrees. We need to find the distance from the base, which is the adjacent side of the right triangle.
Apply Cosine Function: Using trigonometry, specifically the cosine function, which relates the adjacent side to the hypotenuse in a right triangle: cos(30∘)=hypotenuseadjacent.
Use Tangent Function: We have the opposite side 8ft and need to find the adjacent side. But we used the wrong trigonometric function. We should use the tangent function because we have the opposite side and need to find the adjacent side.