Angles of Depression to Find Distance Between Two Objects | Precalculus

Precalculus | Applications of Trigonometry & Angles of Depression How can you use two angles of depression and a known height to find the distance between two objects on the ground? In this clip from Infinity’s Saturday Morning Math Help Live, Giselle works through a Precalculus application involving a blimp suspended 500 feet above a line connecting Soldier Field and the Adler Planetarium. The angle of depression from the blimp to Soldier Field is 32°, and the angle of depression to the Adler Planetarium is 23°. Mr. Bru explains how to: • Interpret angles of depression • Recognize the corresponding angles of elevation • Build two right triangles from the diagram • Use tangent to relate height and horizontal distance • Find the horizontal distance from the point below the blimp to each landmark • Combine those distances to find the total distance between Soldier Field and the Adler Planetarium • Translate a real-world diagram into trigonometric equations This is a great example of how trigonometry can be used to find distances that are difficult to measure directly. Want your own math question answered? Join us for free Saturday Morning Math Help Live and submit a question for a chance to have Mr. Bru work it out on the show. Submit your question here: https://forms.gle/AJg4dCph6uYvvR3KA Infinity - The Math Institute TheMathInstitute.com Math is just counting. Don’t get more math problems… Get solutions! #Precalculus #Trigonometry #MathHelp