A man is walking along a straight road. He notices the top of a tower subtending an angle A = 60∘ with the ground at the point where he is standing. If the height of the tower is h = 30 m, then what is the distance (in meters) of the man from the tower (Use √3 = 1.732)?
17.32
Let BC represent the tower with height h = 30 m and A represent the point where the man is standing.
AB = d denotes the distance of the man from the tower.
The angle subtended by the tower is A = 60∘.
From trigonometry, tan A = tan 60∘ = h/d = √3. So, d = 30/√3 m.
Hence, the distance of the man from the tower is 17.32 m.