You observe a plane approaching overhead and assume that its speed is 500 miles per hour. The angle of elevation of the plane is 15° at one time and 56° one minute later. Approximate the altitude of the plane. (Round your answer to two decimal places.)

The altitude of the plane is 2.7244 miles

Explanation:

Consider the sketch shown below.

XY = distance traveled by the airplane after 1 minute

recall distance = speed × time

XY = 500 × =8.33 miles

From trigonometry laws,

cot 15 =

cot 56 =

cross multiplying,

AX = AB cot 15

AY = AB cot 56

AX - AY = AB cot 15 - AB cot 56

Recall that AX - AY = XY

Hence,

XY = AB (cot 15 - cot 56)

XY = AB (3.73205 - 0.67451)

XY = 3.05754 AB

AB = = = 2.7244 miles

∴ The altitude of the plane is 2.7244 miles

for e2020. the answer would be some directions from the mountain range so we can find mt. whitney. to locate which direction is north, you should use a   compass. this would not only find mt. whitney, but also becuase of this long paragraph you would get points because it's not like anyone actually reads your work becuase once they read the first sentence it sounds dumb enough to not read becuase i'm not good at answering this but the answer is compass for your benefit.

for e2020 ; -;