word problem law of sines?

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devincr

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A surveyor standing 52 meters from the base of a building measures the angle to the top of the building and finds it to be 38 degrees. The surveyor then measures the angle to the top of the radio tower on the building and finds that it is 50 degrees. How tall is the radio tower?

can someone help me set it up? im pretty sure i could get it i'm just confused on how the triangle is set up.
any help would be great. thanks.
 
First, you have to understand what this picture looks like. The top of the building, the base of the building, and the man form one triangle. The radio tower, the base of the building, and the man create a second triangle. Notice how the height of the building is included in the total height up to the radio tower.

Find the height of the building (excluding the radio tower). Let y = height of building.

tan(38) = y/52
tan(38) * 52 = y (remember tangent(x) = opposite/adjacent)

Find the height of the radio tower (including the building). Let x = height from base to top of radio tower.

tan(50) = x/52
tan(50) * 52 = x

Subtract y from x. Make sure you're in degree mode. I hope this helped.
 
First, you have to understand what this picture looks like. The top of the building, the base of the building, and the man form one triangle. The radio tower, the base of the building, and the man create a second triangle. Notice how the height of the building is included in the total height up to the radio tower.

Find the height of the building (excluding the radio tower). Let y = height of building.

tan(38) = y/52
tan(38) * 52 = y (remember tangent(x) = opposite/adjacent)

Find the height of the radio tower (including the building). Let x = height from base to top of radio tower.

tan(50) = x/52
tan(50) * 52 = x

Subtract y from x. Make sure you're in degree mode. I hope this helped.
 
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