(a) The angles of depression of the top and bottom of a building are 51° and 62° respectively from the top of a tower 72m high. The base of the building is ...

Assessment: WAEC SSCE - General Mathematics - 2004 (Essay) Subject: General Mathematics

Question 1 Report

(a) The angles of depression of the top and bottom of a building are 51° and 62° respectively from the top of a tower 72m high. The base of the building is on the same horizontal level as the foot of the tower. Calculate the height of the building correct to 2 significant figures.

(b)   In the diagram, PR is a chord of the circle centre O and radius 30cm, < POR = 120°. Calculate correct to three significant figures : (i) the length of chord PR ; (ii) the length of arc PQR ; (iii) the perimeter of the shaded portion. (Take \(\pi = 3.142\)).

Answer Details

(a) Height of the building.

Let \(d\) be the horizontal distance between the tower and the building. The observer is at the top of the tower, height \(72\text{ m}\).

Bottom of the building (same level as the foot of the tower) has an angle of depression of \(62^{\circ}\), so the vertical drop is the full \(72\text{ m}\):

\[\tan 62^{\circ}=\frac{72}{d}\Rightarrow d=\frac{72}{\tan 62^{\circ}}=\frac{72}{1.8807}=38.28\text{ m}\]

Top of the building has an angle of depression of \(51^{\circ}\), so the drop from the tower top down to the building top is:

\[\text{drop}=d\tan 51^{\circ}=38.28\times 1.2349=47.27\text{ m}\]

The height of the building is the tower height minus this drop:

\[h=72-47.27=24.73\text{ m}\]

Correct to 2 significant figures, the height of the building is \(25\text{ m}\).

(b) Circle, centre O, radius 30 cm, \(\angle POR=120^{\circ}\), \(\pi=3.142\).

(i) Length of chord PR.

Using the cosine rule in triangle \(POR\) with \(|OP|=|OR|=30\text{ cm}\):

\[|PR|^{2}=30^{2}+30^{2}-2(30)(30)\cos 120^{\circ}\]

\[=900+900-1800(-0.5)=1800+900=2700\]

\[|PR|=\sqrt{2700}=51.96\text{ cm}\approx 52.0\text{ cm}\]

(ii) Length of arc PQR.

From the diagram, \(Q\) lies on the major arc, so arc \(PQR\) uses the reflex angle:

\[\text{Reflex }\angle POR=360^{\circ}-120^{\circ}=240^{\circ}\]

\[\text{Arc }PQR=\frac{240}{360}\times 2\pi r=\frac{240}{360}\times 2\times 3.142\times 30\]

\[=\frac{240}{360}\times 188.52=0.6667\times 188.52=125.7\text{ cm}\]

(iii) Perimeter of the shaded portion.

The shaded region is the major segment, bounded by the chord \(PR\) and the major arc \(PQR\):

\[\text{Perimeter}=|PR|+\text{arc }PQR=51.96+125.7=177.7\text{ cm}\]

Correct to 3 significant figures, the perimeter of the shaded portion is \(178\text{ cm}\).

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