A wire attached to the top of a pole reaches a stake in the

A wire attached to the top of a pole reaches a stake in the ground 20 feet from the foot of the pole and makes an angle of 58 degrees with the ground . Find the length of the wire .

Solution

Let us assume it will form a triangle where Base is given as 20 Feet and Hypotenuse is the length of the wire. Angle formed between these two is equal to 58 degrees.

Now, we can write cos 58 = base/hypotenuse

which implies Hypotenuse = base/ cos 58

=20/.11918 = 167.81 feet

Therefore, length of the wire is 167.81 feet.