NumericalHard4 marks
From the top of a tower 100 m high, a man observes the angle of depression of two ships A and B, on opposite sides of the tower as 45° and 38° respectively. If the foot of tower and the ships are in the same horizontal line, find the distance between two ships A and B to the nearest metre. (Use Mathematical Tables for this question.)
Topic: Heights and distances
Previous-year question practice database
Answer
Solution diagram
Exam answer
Distance between the ships ≈ 228 m.
Explanation
Distances from tower foot: 100/tan45°=100 m and 100/tan38°≈128 m. Ships are on opposite sides, so distance ≈228 m.
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