APPLICATIONS OF TRIGONOMETRY

(Problems based on Heights & Distances)

By O.P. GUPTA Math Mentor & Author

INDIRA AWARD WINNER

INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we shall use our knowledge of trigonometric ratios to deal with the problems of finding
heights and distances. And I can assure you that you will enjoy for sure. But before we do so, I shall give
you a quick recap of whatever you studied in the chapter on Introduction To Trigonometry.
So, here we go!!
01. Trigonometric ratios and sides of a right angled triangle: p h
p b p
 sin    cos    tan  
h h b θ
h h b b
 cosec    sec    cot   .
p b p
02. Trigonometric identities:
 sin 2   cos2   1  1  tan 2   sec 2   1  cot 2   cosec 2  .
03. Relation between trigonometric ratios:
sin  1
 tan    tan    tan  cot   1
cos  cot 
cos  1 1
 cot    cosec   sec   .
sin  sin  cos 
04. Trigonometric ratios of complementary angles:
• sin  90     cos  , cos  90     sin 
• tan  90     cot  , cot  90     tan 
• sec  90  θ   cosec θ , cosec  90     sec  .
 Following table includes trigonometric ratio of standard angles:

Degree   
0 30 45 60 90
T – Ratios 
sin 0 1 1 3 1
2 2 2
cos 1 3 1 1 0
2 2 2
tan 0 1 1 3 
3

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MATHEMATICIA for Class 10 By O.P. GUPTA (INDIRA Award Winner)

cosec  2 2 2 1
3
sec 1 2 2 2 
3
cot  3 1 1 0
3

NOTE Memorize these values: 2  1.414, 3  1.732, 5  2.236 .

EXERCISE FOR PRACTICE

Q01. A circus artist is climbing from the ground along a 24 m long rope tied at a point on the ground
and is stretched from the top of a vertical pole of height 12 m. Find the angle made by the rope
with ground level.  Ans.30

Q02. The shadow of a flagstaff is three times as long as the shadow of the flagstaff when the sun rays
meet the ground at an angle of 60 . Find the angle between the sun rays and the ground at the
time of longer shadow.  Ans.30

Q03. Find the angle of elevation of the sun’s altitude when the length of the shadow of a vertical pole is
equal to its height.  Ans.45o

Q04. A girl, 1.5 m tall, is standing at a distance of 28.5 m from a cellular-phone tower 30 m high.
Determine the angle of elevation of the top of tower from her eye.  Ans.45o

Q05. A man, standing on the bank of a river, observes that the angle subtended by a tree on the opposite
bank is 60 . When he moves 20 m away from the bank, he observes the angle to be 30 . Find the
height of the tree and the width of the river.  Ans.10 3 m, 10 m

Q06. A tree is broken by the wind. The top of the tree struck the ground at an angle of 30 and at a
distance of 30 m from the root. Find the whole height of tree and the height above the ground at
which it is broken.  Ans.30 3 m, 10 3 m

Q07. Determine the height of a hill if the elevation of its top at an unknown distance from the base is
30 . Also at a distance 10 km further off from the hill, along the same line, the angle of elevation
tan A  tan B
is 15 . To find the value of tan15 , use tan  A  B   .  Ans.5 km
1  tan A tan B
Q08. An airplane at an altitude of 1200 m finds that two ships are sailing towards it in the same
direction. The angles of depression of the ships as seen from the airplane are 60 and 30
respectively. Find the distance between these two ships.  Ans.800 3 m

Q09. An airplane pilot, at an altitude of 200 m, observes the angles of depression of two opposite points
on the two banks of a river to be 45 and 60 . Find the width of the river.

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  1 
 Ans.200   1 m
  3 
Q10. Two poles of same height are standing on either side of a 100 m wide road. Angle of elevation of
the top of two poles are 60 and 30 at a point on the road between the two poles. Find the
position of the point between poles and the height of each pole.
 Ans.25 m from 1st pole & 75 m from 2 nd pole, 25 3 m

Q11. As observed from the top of a light house, 100 m above the sea level, the angle of depression of a
boat, sailing directly towards it, changes from 30 to 45 . Determine the distance travelled by the
boat during the period of observation. 
 Ans.100 3  1 m
 
Q12. From the top of a tower 60 m high the angles of depression of the top and the bottom of another
tower are observed to be 30 and 60 . Find the height of second tower and the distance between
them.  Ans.40 m , 20 3 m
Q13. A boy is standing on the deck of a ship, which is 10 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.  Ans.10 3 m, 40 m

Q14. There is a small island in the middle of a 100 m wide river and a tall tree stands on the island. A
and B are points directly opposite to each other on two banks, and in line with the tree. If the
angles of elevation of the top of the tree from A and B are respectively 30 and 45 , find the
height of the tree. 
 Ans.50 3  1 m
 
Q15. An airplane when flying at a height of 4000 m from the ground passes vertically above another
airplane at an instant when the angles of elevation of the two planes from a fixed point on the
ground are 60 and 45 respectively. Find the vertical distance between the two planes at that
  1 
instant.  Ans.4000  1  m
  3
Q16. The length of a string between a kite and a point on the ground is 90 m. If the string makes an
15
angle  with the ground level such that the cosine of the angle  is , then how high is the kite
17
if there is no slack in the string.  Ans.42.35 m
Q17. A parachutist is descending vertically and makes the angles of depression of 45 and 60 at two
observing points on the ground which are 100 m apart from each other and are situated on the
same side. Find the maximum height from which he falls and the distance of the point where he
falls on the ground from the two observation points.
 Ans.Height:236.6 m; Distances:236.6 m,136.6 m
Q18. A fire in a building is reported 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 fire station should send its team and how much will
this team have to travel?  Ans.P, 7.32 km
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Q19. A man on the top of a vertical tower observes a car moving at a uniform speed coming directly
towards it. If it takes 12 minutes for the angle of depression of the car to change from 30 to 45 ,
how soon after this will the car reach the tower?  Ans.16 min, 23 sec
Q20. The angle of elevation of a jet plane from a point A on the ground is 60 . After a flight of 15
seconds, the angle of elevation changes to 30 . If the jet plane is flying at a pre-decided constant
height of 1500 3 m , find the speed of the jet plane.  Ans.200 m/s i.e. 720 km/hr
Q21. The angle of elevation of a jet plane from a point A on the ground is 60 . After a flight of 30
seconds, the angle of elevation changes to 30 . If the jet plane is flying at a pre-decided constant
height of 3600 3 m , find the speed of the jet plane.  Ans.864 km/hr
Q22. The angle of elevation of a jet fighter plane from a point A on the ground is 45 . After a flight of
20 seconds, the angle of elevation changes to 30 . If the plane is flying at a pre-decided constant
speed of 720 km/hr, find the height at which the jet is flying.  Ans.5.464 km
Q23. An airplane 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 speed of the airplane in km/hr.
 Ans.415.66 km/hr
Q24. A man on the top of a hill observes a boat at an angle of depression of 30 which is approaching
the shore to the point immediately beneath the observer with a uniform speed. 6 minutes later, the
angle of depression of the boat is found to be 60 . Find time taken by the boat to reach the shore.
 Ans.9 min
Q25. A straight highway leads to the foot of a tower. A man standing on the top of tower observes a
motor bike at an angle of depression of 30 which is approaching the foot of tower with a uniform
speed. 6 seconds later, the angle of depression of the bike is found to be 60 . Find the time taken
by the bike to reach the foot of the tower from this point.  Ans.3 seconds
Q26. A man rowing a boat away from light house 150 m high, takes 2 minutes to change the angle of
elevation of the top of the light house from 45 to 30 . Find the speed of the boat.
 Ans.3.29 km/hr
Q27. A bird is sitting on the top of a tree 80 m high. The angle of elevation of the bird from a point on
the ground is 45 . The bird flies away from the point of observation horizontally maintaining a
constant height. After 2 seconds, the angle of elevation of the bird from the same point of
observation becomes 30 . Find the speed of flying of the bird.  Ans.29.28 m/s
Q28. The angle of elevation of a cloud from a point h meters above the surface of a lake is  and the
angle of depression of its reflection in the lake is  . Prove that:

 tan   tan  
(a) the height of the cloud above the lake’s surface is h   , and
 tan   tan  
2h sec 
(b) the distance of the cloud from the point of observation is .
tan   tan 

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Q29. (a) From a jet plane vertically above a straight horizontal road, the angles of depression of two
consecutive mile stones on opposite sides of the plane are observed to be  and  . Show that the
tan  tan 
height (in miles) of jet plane above the road is given by .
tan   tan 
(b) From a jet plane vertically above a straight horizontal road, the angles of depression of two
consecutive mile stones on the same side of the plane are observed to be  and  . Show that the
tan  tan 
height (in miles) of jet plane above the road is given by .
tan   tan 
Q30. AB is a lamp post of height h, and CD is a tower at some distance. It is observed that  and  are
the angles of elevation of D, the top of the tower, at A and B respectively. Find the height of the
h tan  h
tower and its distance from the lamp post.  Ans. ,
tan   tan  tan   tan 
Q31. A tower subtends an angle of elevation  at a point A in the plane of its base and the angle of
depression of the foot of tower at a point d meters just above A is  . Prove that the height of the
tower is d tan  cot  .
Q32. From the top of a light house, the angles of depression of two ships on the opposite sides of it are
found to be α and β . If the height of the light house be h meters and the line joining the ships
passes through the foot of the light house, show that the distance (in meters) between both the ship
 tan α  tan β 
is given as: h  .
 tan α tan β 
Q33. A ladder rests against a wall at an angle α to the horizontal. Its foot is pulled away from the wall
through a distance d, so that it slides through a distance p down the wall making an angle β with
d cos α  cos β
the horizontal. Show that  .
p sin β  sin α
Q34. A tower stands vertically on a horizontal plane and is surmounted by a vertical flagstaff of height
h. At a point on the plane, the angles of elevation of the bottom and the top of the flagstaff are α
h tan α
and β respectively. Prove that the height of the tower is .
tan β  tan α
Q35. The angles of elevation of the top of a tower from two points at distances x and y meters from the
base and in the same straight line with it, are complementary. Prove that the height of the tower is
xy meters.
Q36. A round balloon of radius r subtends an angle α at the eye of an observer while the angle of
α
elevation of its center is β . Prove that the height of the center of the balloon is r sin β cosec   .
 2
Q37. A tower in a city market is H meters high and a five-star hotel in the city market is h meters high.
A building is situated on the road connecting the tower with the city market at a distance of d
meters from the foot of the tower. The angle of elevation of the top of the tower at the top of the
hotel is α . Find the height of building if top of the hotel, top of the building and top of the tower
are in a straight line. Also find the distance of the tower from the hotel.
 Ans.Height:H  d tan θ; Distance:  H  h  cot θ

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Q38. The angle of elevation of a cloud from a point 60 m above a lake is 30 and the angle of
depression of the reflection of cloud in the lake’s water is 60 . Find the height of the cloud.
 Ans.120 m
Q39. The angle of elevation of a stationary helicopter from a point 100 m above a lake is 30 and its
angle of depression of its reflection in the lake’s water is 45 . Find the height of the helicopter.
 Ans.373 m
Q40. The angles of elevation of the top of a tower from two points located at a distance of 4 m and 16
m from the base of the tower and in the same straight line with it are complimentary. Find the
height of the tower.  Ans.8 m
Q41. At a point on the level ground, the angle of a vertical tower is found α . On walking 192 m
5 3
towards the tower, the angle changes to β . Find the height of tower if tan α  , tan β  .
12 4
 Ans.180 m
Q42. At a certain point the angle of elevation of a tower is found to be such that its cotangent is 3/5; on
walking 32 m directly towards the tower its angle of elevation changes into an angle whose
cotangent is 2/5. Find the height of the tower.  Ans.160 m
Q43. From a window, which is 60 m high above the ground, of a house in a street the angles of
elevation and depression of the top and bottom of another house situated on the opposite side of
the street are 60 and 45 respectively. Find the height of the opposite house.

 Ans.60 1  
3 m

Q44. A ladder of length 4 m makes an angle of 30 with the floor while leaning against one wall of a
room. If the foot of the ladder is kept fixed on the floor and it is made to lean against the opposite
wall of the room, it makes an angle of measure 60 with the floor. Find the distance between
these two walls of the room.  Ans.5.46 m
Q45. An aircraft is flying along a horizontal path PQ directly towards an observer on the ground at
point R and maintaining an altitude of 3000 m. When the aircraft is at P, the angle of depression is
30 and when at Q, the angle of depression is 60 . Find the distance PQ.  Ans.3464 m
Q46. A person standing on the bank of a river, observes that the angle subtended by a tree on the
opposite bank is 60 . When he retreats 20 m from the bank, he finds the angle to be 30 . Find the
height of the tree and the breadth of the river.  Ans.17.32 m,10 m
Q47. A boy is standing on ground and flying a kite with 150 m of string at an elevation of 30 . Another
boy is standing on the roof of a 25 m high building and flying a kite at an elevation of 45 . Find
the length of string required by the second boy so that the two kites just meet, if both boys are on
opposite side of the kites.  Ans.70.7 m
Q48. An aeroplane, flying horizontally 1000 m above the ground, is observed at an angle of elevation
60 from a point on the ground. After a flight of 10 seconds, the angle of elevation at the point of
observation changes to 30 . Find the speed of the plane in m/s.

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Q49. A vertically straight tree, 15 m high 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?  Ans. 6.96 m
Q50. A man in a boat rowing away from a light house 100 m high takes 2 minutes to change the angle
of elevation of the top of the light house from 60 to 45 . Find the speed of boat.
 5 1 
 Ans. 1   m/s or 21 m/min
 6 3

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