Solution of Chapter 12. Some Application of Trigonometry (RD Sharma - Mathematics Book)

A tower stands vertically on the ground. From a point on the ground, 20 m away from the foot of the tower, the angle of elevation of the top the tower is 60°. What is the height of the tower?

The angle of elevation of a ladder leaning against a wall is 60° and the foot of the ladder is 9.5 m away from the wall. Find the length of the ladder.

A ladder is placed along a wall of a house such that its upper end is touching the top of the wall. The foot of the ladder is 2 m away from the wall and the ladder is making an angle of 60° with the level of the ground. Determine the height of the wall.

An electric pole is 10 m high. A steel wire tied to top of the pole is affixed at a point on the ground to keep the pole up right. If the wire makes an angle of 45° with the horizontal through the foot of the pole, find the length of the wire.

A kite is flying at a height of 75 metres from the ground level, attached to a string inclined at 60° to the horizontal. Find the length of the string to the nearest metre.

The length of a string between a kite and a point on the ground is 90 metres. If the string makes an angle with the ground level such that tan=15/8, how high is the kite? Assume that there is no slack in the string.

A vertical tower stands on a horizontal plane and is surmounted by a vertical flag-staff. At a point on the plane 70 metres away from the tower, an observer notices that the angles of elevation of the top and the bottom of the flag-staff are respectively 60° and 45°. Find the height of the flag-staff and that of the tower.

A vertically straight tree, 15m height, is broken by the wind in such a way that its top just touches the ground and makes an angle of 60° with the ground. At what height from the ground did the tree break?

A vertical tower stands on a horizontal plane and is surmounted by a vertical flag-staff of height 5 metres. At a point on the plane, the angles of elevation of the bottom and the top of the flag-staff are respectively 30° and 60°. Find the height of the tower.

A person observed the angle of elevation of the top of a tower as 30°. He walked 50 m towards the foot of the tower along level ground and found the angle of elevation of the top of the tower as 60°. Find the height of the tower.

The shadow of a tower, when the angle of elevation of the sun is 45°, is found to be 10 m longer than when it was 60°. Find the height of the tower.

A parachutist is descending vertically and makes angles of elevation of 45° and 60° at two observing points 100 m apart from each other on the left side of himself. Find the maximum height from which he falls and the distance of the point where he falls on the ground from the just observation point.

On the same side of a tower, two objects are located. When observed from the top of the tower, their angles of depression are 45° and 60°. If the height of the tower is 150 m, find the distance between the objects.

The angle of elevation of a tower from a point on the same level as the foot of the tower is 30°. On advancing 150 meters towards the foot of the tower, the angle of elevation of the tower becomes 60°. Show that the height of the tower is 129.9 metres (Use ).

The angle of elevation of the top of a tower as observed from a point in a horizontal plane through the foot of the tower is 32°. When the observer moves towards the tower a distance of 100 m, he finds the angle of elevation of the top to be 63°. Find the height of the tower and the distance of the first position from the tower. [Take tan 32° = 0.6248 and tan 63° = 1.9626]

The angle of elevation of the top of a tower from a point A on the ground is 30°. On moving a distance of 20 metres towards the foot of the tower to a point B the angle of elevation increases to 60°. Find the height of the tower and the distance of the tower from the point A.

From the top of a building 15 m high the angle of elevation of the top of a tower is found to be 30°. From the bottom of the same building, the angle of elevation of the top of the tower is found to be 60°. Find the height of the tower and the distance between the tower and building.

On a horizontal plane there is a vertical tower with a flag pole on the top of the tower. At a point 9 metres away from the foot of the tower the angle of elevation of the top and bottom of the flag pole are 60° and 30° respectively. Find the height of the tower and the flag pole mounted on it.

A tree breaks due to storm and the broken part bends so that the top of the tree touches the ground making an angle of 30° with the ground. The distance between the foot of the tree to the point where the top touches the ground is 8 m. Find the height of the tree.

From a point P on the ground the angle of elevation of a 10 m tall building is 30°. A flag is hoisted at the top of the building and the angle of elevation of the top of the flag-staff from P is 45°. Find the length of the flag-staff and the distance of the building from the point P. (Take ).

A 1.6 m tall girl stands at a distance of 3.2 m from a lamp-post and casts a shadow of 4.8 m on the ground. Find the height of the lamp-post by using (i) trigonometric ratios (ii) property of similar triangles.

A 1.5 m tall boy is standing at some distance from a 30 m tall building. The angle of elevation from his eyes to the top of the building increases from 30° to 60° as he walks towards the building. Find the distance he walked towards the building.

The shadow of a tower standing on a level ground is found to be 40 m longer when Sun’s altitude is 30° than when it was 60°. Find the height of the tower.

From a point on the ground the angles of elevation of the bottom and top of a transmission tower fixed at the top of 20 m high building are 45° and 60° respectively. Find the height of the transmission tower.

The angles of depression of the top and bottom of 8 m tall building from the top of a multistoried building are 30° and 45° respectively. Find the height of the multistoried building and the distance between the two buildings.

A statue 1.6 m tall stands on the top of pedestal. From a point on the ground, the angle of elevation of the top of the statue is 60° and from the same point the angle of elevation of the top of the pedestal is 45°. Find the height of the pedestal.

A T.V. tower stands vertically on a bank of a river. From a point on the other bank directly opposite the tower, the angle of elevation of the top of the tower is 60°. From a point 20 m away this point on the same bank, the angle of elevation of the top of the tower is 30°. Find the height of the tower and the width of the river.

From the top a 7 m high building, the angle of elevation of the top of a cable tower is 60° and the angle of depression of its foot is 45°. Determine the height of the tower.

As observed from the top of a 75 m tall lighthouse, the angles of depression of two ships are 30° and 45°. If one ship is exactly behind the other on the same side of the lighthouse, find the distance between the two ships.

The angle of elevation of the top of the building from the foot of the tower is 30° and the angle of the top of the tower from the foot of the building is 60°. If the tower is 50 m high, find the height of the building.

From a point on a bridge across a river the angles of depression of the banks on opposite side of the river are 30° and 45° respectively. If bridge is at the height of 30m from the banks, find the width of the river.

Two poles of equal heights are standing opposite to each other on either side of the road which is 80 m wide. From a point between them on the road the angles of elevation of the top of the poles are 60° and 30° respectively. Find the height of the poles and the distances of the point from the poles.

A man sitting at a height of 20 m on a tall tree on a small island in the middle of a river observes two poles directly opposite to each other on the two banks of the river and in line with the foot of tree. If the angles of depression of the feet of the poles from a point at which the man is sitting on the tree on either side of the river are 60° and 30° respectively. Find the width of the river.

A vertical tower stands on a horizontal plane and is surmounted by a flag-staff of height 7 m. From a point on the plane, the angle of elevation of the bottom of the flag-staff is 30° and that of the top of the flag-staff is 45°. Find the height of the tower.

The length of the shadow of a tower standing on level plane is found to be 2x metres longer when the sun’s altitude is 30° than when it was 45°. Prove that the height of tower is metres.

A tree breaks due to the storm and the broken part bends so that the top of the tree touches the ground making an angle of 30° with the ground. The distance from the foot of the tree to the point where the top touches the ground is 10 metres. Find the height of the tree.

A balloon is connected to a meteorological ground station by a cable of length 215 m inclined at 60° to the horizontal. Determine the height of the balloon from the ground. Assume that there is no slack in the cable.

Two men on either side of the cliff 80 m high observes the angles of elevation of the top of the cliff to be 30° and 60° respectively. Find the distance between the two men.

Find the angle of elevation of the sun (sun’s altitude) when the length of the shadow of a vertical pole is equal to its height.

A fire in a building B is reported on teleported on telephone to two fire stations P and Q, 20 km apart from each other on a straight road. P observes that the fire is at an angle of 60° to the road and Q observes that it is at an angle of 45° to the road. Which station should send its team and how much will this team have to travel?

A man on the deck of a ship is 10 m above the water level. He observes that the angle of elevation of the top of a cliff is 45° and the angle of depression of the base is 30°. Calculate the distance of the cliff from the ship and the height of the cliff.

A man standing on the deck of a ship, which is 8 m above water level. He observes the angle of elevation of the top of a hill as 60° and the angle of depression of the base of the hill as 30°. Calculate the distance of the hill from the ship and the height of the hill.

There are two temples, one on each bank of a river, just opposite to each other. One temple is 50 m high. From the top of this temple, the angles of depression of the top and the foot of the other temple are 30° and 60° respectively. Find the width of the river and the height of the other temple.

The angle of elevation of an aeroplane from a point on the ground is 45°. After a flight of 15 seconds, the elevation changes to 30°. If the aeroplane is flying at a height of 3000 metres, find the speed of the aeroplane.

An aeroplane flying horizontally 1 km above the ground is observed at an elevation of 60°. After 10 seconds, its elevation is observed to be 30°. Find the speed of the aeroplane in km / hr.

From the top of a 50 m high tower, the angles of depression of the top and bottom of a pole are observed to be 45° and 60° respectively. Find the height of the pole.

The horizontal distance between two trees of different heights is 60 m. The angle of depression of the top of the first tree when seen from the top of the second tree is 45°. If the height of the second tree is 80 m, find the height of the first tree.

A tree standing on a horizontal plane is leaning towards east. At two points situated at distances a and b exactly due west on it, the angles of elevation of the top are respectively α and β. Prove that the height of the top from the ground is

The angle of elevation of the top of a vertical tower PQ from a point X on the ground is 60°. At a point Y, 40 m vertically above X, the angle of elevation of the top is 45°. Calculate the height of the tower

The angle of elevation of a stationery cloud from a point 2500 m above a lake is 15° and the angle of depression of its reflection in the lake is 45°. What is the height of the cloud above the lake level? (Use tan 15° = 0.268)

If the angle of elevation of a cloud from a point h metres above a lake is a and the angle of depression of its reflection in the lake be b, prove that the distance of the cloud from the point of observation is

From an aeroplane vertically above a straight horizontal road, the angles of depression of two consecutive mile stones on opposite sides of the aeroplane are observed to be α and β. Show that the height in miles of aeroplane above the road is given by

PQ is a post of given height a, and AB is a tower at some distance. If α and β are the angles of elevation of B, the top of the tower, at P and Q respectively. Find the height of the tower and its distance from the post.

A ladder rests against a wall at an angle α to the horizontal. Its foot is pulled away from the wall through a distance a, so that it slides a distance b down the wall making an angle β with the horizontal. Show that

A tower subtends an angle α at a point A in the plane of its base and the angle of depression of the foot of the tower at a point b metres just above A is β. Prove that the height of the tower is b tan α cot β.

An observer, 1.5 m tall, is 28.5 m away from a tower 30 m high. Determine the angle of elevation of the tower from his eye.

A carpenter makes stools for electricians with a square top of side 0.5 m and at a height of 1.5 m above the ground. Also, each leg is inclined at an angle of 60° to the ground. Find the length of each leg and also the lengths of two steps to be put at equal distances.

A boy is standing on the ground and flying a kite with 100 m of string at an elevation of 30°. Another boy is standing on the roof of a 10 m high building and is flying his kite at an elevation of 45°. Both the boys are on opposite sides of both the kites. Find the length of the string that the second boy must have so that the two kites meet.

The angle of elevation of the top of a hill at the foot of a tower is 60° and the angle of elevation of the top of the tower from the foot of the hill is 30°. If the tower is 50 m high, what is the height of the hill?

Two boats approach a light house in mid-sea from opposite directions. The angles of elevation of the top of the light house from two boats are 30° and 45° respectively. If the distance between two boats is 100 m, find the height of the light house.

From the top of a building AB, 60 m high, the angles of depression of the top and bottom of a vertical lamp post CD are observed to be 30° and 60° respectively. Find

(i) the horizontal distance between AB and CD.

(ii) the height of the lamp post.

(iii) the difference between the heights of the building and the lamp post.

From the top of a light house, the angles of depression of two ships on the opposite sides of it are observed to be α and β. If the height of the light house be h metres and the line joining the ships passes through the foot of the light house, show that the distance between the ship is

A straight highway leads to the foot of a tower of height 50 m. From the top of the tower, the angles of depression of two cars standing on the highway are 30° and 60° respectively. What is the distance between the two cars and how far is each car from the tower?

The angles of elevation of the top of a rock from the top and foot of a 100 m high tower are respectively 30° and 45°. Find the height of the rock.

As observed from the top of a 150 m tall light house, the angles of depression of two ships approaching it are 30° and 45°. If one ship is directly behind the other, find the distance between the two ships.

A flag-staff stands on the top of a 5 m high tower. From a point on the ground, the angle of elevation of the top of the flag-staff is 60° and from the same point, the angle of elevation of the top of the tower is 45°. Find the height of the flag-staff.

The angles of elevation of the top of a tower from two points at a distance of 4 m and 9 m from the base of the tower and in the same straight line with it are complementary. Prove that the height of the tower is 6 m.

The angles of depression of two ships from the top of a light house and on the same side of it are found to be 45° and 30° respectively. If the ships are 200 m apart, find the height of the light house.

The horizontal distance between two poles is 15 m. The angle of depression of the top of the first pole as seen from the top of the second pole is 30°. If the height of the second pole is 24m, find the height of the first pole.

Two ships are there in the sea on either side of a light house in such a way that the ships and the light house are in the same straight line. The angles of depression of two ships are observed from the top of the light house are 60° and 45° respectively. If the height of the light house is 200 m, find the distance between the two ships.

The angle of elevation of the top of a chimney from the top of a tower is 60° and the angle of depression of the foot of the chimney from the top of the tower is 30°. If the height of the tower is 40 m, find the height of the chimney. According to pollution control norms, the minimum height of a smoke emitting chimney should be 100 m. State if the height of the above mentioned chimney meets the pollution norms. What value is discussed in this question?

An aeroplane is flying at a height of 210 m. Flying at this height at some instant the angles of depression of two points in a line in opposite directions on both the banks of the river are 45° and 60°. Find the width of the river.

The height of a tower is 10 m. What is the length of its shadow when Sun’s altitude is 45°?

If the ratio of the height of a tower and the length of its shadow is √3 :1, what is the angle of elevation of the Sun?

What is the angle of elevation of the Sun when the length of the shadow of a vertical pole is equal to its height?

From a point on the ground, 20 m away from the foot of a vertical tower, the angle of elevation of the top of the tower is 60°, what is the height of the tower?

If the angles of elevation of the top of a tower from two points at a distance of 4 m and 9 m from the base of the tower and in the same straight line with it are complimentary, find the height of the tower.

In Fig. 12.58, what are the angles of depression from the observing positions O₁ and O₂ of the object at A?

The tops of two towers of height x and y, standing on level ground, subtend angles of 30° and 60° respectively at the centre of the line joining their feet, then find x: y.

The angle of elevation of the top of a tower at a point on the ground is 30°. What will be the angle of elevation, if the height of the tower is tripled?

The ratio of the length of a rod and its shadow is 1 : √3. The angle of elevation of the sum is

If the angle of elevation of a tower from a distance of 100 meters from its foot is 60°, then the height of the tower is

If the altitude of the sun is at 60°, then the height of the vertical tower that will cast a shadow of length 30 m is

If the angles of elevation of a tower from two points distant a and (a > b) from its foot and in the same straight line from it are 30° and 60°, then the height of the tower is

If the angles of elevation of the top of a tower from two points distant a and b from the base and in the same straight line with it are complementary, then the height of the tower is

From a light house the angles of depression of two ships on opposite sides of the light house are observed to be 30° and 45°. If the height of the light house is h metres, the distance between the ships is

The angle of elevation of the top of a tower standing on a horizontal plane from a point C is α. After walking a distance d towards the foot of the tower the angle of elevation is found to be β. The height of the tower is

The tops of two poles of height of 20 m and 14 m are connected by a wire. If the wire makes an angle of 30° with horizontal, then the length of the wire is

From the top of a cliff 25 m high the angle of elevation of a tower is found to be equal to the angle of depression of the foot of the tower. The height of the tower is

The angles of depression of two ships from the top of a light house are 45° and 30° towards east. If the ships are 100 m apart, the height of the light house is

If the angle of elevation of a cloud from a point 200 m above a lake is 30° and the angle of depression of its reflection in the lake is 60°, then the height of the cloud above the lake, is

The height of a tower is 100 m. When the angle of elevation of the sun changes from 30° to 45°, the shadow of the tower becomes x metres less. The value of x is

Two persons are a metres apart and the height of one is double that of the other. If from the middle point of the line joining their feet, an observer finds the angular elevation of their tops to be complementary, then the height of the shorter person is

The angle of elevation of a cloud from a point h metre above a lake is θ. The angle of depression of its reflection in the lake is 45°. The height of the cloud is

A tower subtends an angle of 30° at a point on the same level as its foot. At a second point h metres above the first, the depression of the foot of the tower is 60°. The height of the tower is

It is found that on walking x meters towards a chimney in a horizontal line through its base, the elevation of its top changes from 30° to 60°. The height of the chimney is

The length of the shadow of a tower standing on level ground is found to be 2x metres longer when the sun’s elevation is 30° than when it was 45°. The height of the tower in metres is

Two poles are ‘a’ metres apart and the height of one is double of the other. If from the middle point of the line joining their feet an observer finds the angular elevations of their tops to be complementary, then the height of the smaller is

The tops of two poles of height 16 m and 10 m are connected by a wire of length l metres. If the wire makes an angle of 30° with the horizontal, then l =

If a 1.5 m tall girl stands at a distance of 3 m from a lamp-post and casts a shadow of length 4.5 m on the ground, then the height of the lamp-post is

The length of shadow of a tower on the plane ground is √3 times the height of the tower. The angle of elevation of sun is

The angle of depression of a car, standing on the ground, from the top of a 75 m tower, is 30°. The distance of the car from the base of the tower (in metres) is

A ladder 15 m long just reaches the top of a vertical wall. If the ladder makes an angle of 60° with the wall, then the height of the wall is

The angle of depression of a car parked on the road from the top of a 150 m high tower is 30°. The distance of the car from the tower (in metres) is

If the height of a vertical pole is √3 times the length of its shadow on the ground, then the angle of elevation of the sun at that times is

The angle of elevation of the top of a tower at a point on the ground 50 m away from the foot of the tower is 45°. Then the height of the tower (in metres) is

A ladder makes an angle of 60° with the ground when placed against a wall. If the foot of the ladder is 2 m away from the wall, then the length of the ladder (in metres) is