A hawk 400 feet above the ground spots a mouse on the ground

A hawk, 400 feet above the ground spots a mouse on the ground at an angle of depression of 12degrees°.

Find the line of sight distance between the hawk and the mouse.

Solution

let h be height and L be distance along line of sight and D be angle of depression

then

LsinD = h

L = h/(sinD) = 400/sin12 = 1923.893738 ft