Given:
Height of access ramp = 6 foot
Ramp ends at a point 40 feet away along the ground.
To find:
The angle of depression in nearest tenth of a degree.
Solution:
Using the given information, draw a figure as shown below.
In a right angle triangle,
[tex]\tan \theta = \dfrac{\text{Perpendicular}}{\text{Base}}[/tex]
In triangle ABC,
[tex]\tan \theta=\dfrac{AB}{BC}[/tex]
[tex]\tan \theta=\dfrac{6}{40}[/tex]
[tex]\tan \theta=0.15[/tex]
Taking tan inverse on both sides.
[tex]\theta=\tan^{-1}(0.15)[/tex]
[tex]\theta=8.5307656[/tex]
[tex]\theta \approx 8.5[/tex]
Therefore, the angle of depression is 8.5 degrees.
