Question

At an altitude of 1050 feet above the ground, a glider pilot sights the landing area. What should the glide angle (angle of depression) be if the landing area is 6000 feet from a point directly below the plane?1. 25 2. 10 3. 15. 4. 52

Answer 1

Given that:

- The glider pilot sights the landing area at an altitude of 1050 feet above the ground.

- The landing area is 6000 feet from a point directly below the plane.

Since have to find the glide angle (angle of depression), you need to draw the following Right Triangle using the data provided in the exercise:

Where the glide angle (angle of depression) is θ.

In order to find its measure, you need to use the following Inverse Trigonometric Function:

$\theta=\tan ^{-1}(\frac{opposite}{adjacent})$

In this case:

$\begin{gathered} opposite=1050 \\ adjacent=6000 \end{gathered}$

Substituting values into the formula and evaluating, you get:

$\theta\approx10\text{\degree}$

Hence, the answer is: Option 2.