Help please!

mrodriguez

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Aug 16, 2005
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A kite is flying at the end of a 150-meter string. The string makes an angle of 60 degrees with the ground. How high above the ground is the kite?

How do figure out the formula to answer this question? The answer is in meters, so is the degree even relevant in finding my answer?
 
mrodriguez said:
A kite is flying at the end of a 150-meter string. The string makes an angle of 60 degrees with the ground. How high above the ground is the kite?

How do figure out the formula to answer this question? The answer is in meters, so is the degree even relevant in finding my answer?
That is NOT an encouraging question, that last one. It suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of he important concepts in this problem.

The ground is assumed to be horizontal. Draw some ground on a piece of paper.
Draw a kite in the sky.
Drop a vertical line from the kite to the ground.
Draw a line from the kite to the ground, but DON'T draw it vertical.
Look at what you have drawn. It should look like a triangle. The sides of the triangle are measured in meters. The angles of the triangle are measured in degrees. Both units are required.

Label the angle that ISN'T directly under the kite 60°.
Label the ground angle directly under the kite 90°.

You should have a definition of the sine of the 60° angle. Opposite/Hypotenuse -- Are we ringing any bells? You have to tell me if you know what I am talking about.
 
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