Fred the owl is looking down at a 67° angle from the top of a tree that is 15 ft tall, when he spots a bird on the ground. How far away is Fred from the bird? Round to the nearest hundredth. A. 5.45 ftB. 6.37 ftC. 16.30 ftD. 7.89 ft

C

Step-by-step explanation:

Always draw a diagram first (see diagram below). We assume trees are perpendicular (at 90°) to the ground. The situation forms a right-angle triangle.

We need to find "x", which is the direct distance between the owl and the bird. "x" is also the hypotenuse, which is the longest side in a right-angle triangle. Since we know a side and an angle, we can find the hypotenuse using primary trigonometry ratios.

∠B will be the angle of reference (the angle we are "talking" about). The side we know is opposite to ∠B (15ft). We know it's opposite because it's not touching the angle. The side we need to find is the hypotenuse.

Use the trig. ratio sine because it has opposite and hypotenuse in it. The general formula is:

sinθ = opp/hyp

θ means the angle, and we know it is 67°.

Replace all the information you know:

sinB = opp/hyp

sin67° = (15ft) / x     Isolate "x". Rearrange the equation.

xsin67° = (15ft)         Divide both sides by sin67°

x = (15ft) / sin67°

x = 16.295... ft   Exact answer in decimals

x ≈ 16.30 ft     Rounded to nearest hundredth

Therefore Fred the owl is 16.30 feet from the bird.