A television camera is on a reviewing platform a meters from the street on which a parade will be passing from left to right (see figure).Write the distance d from the camera to a particular unit in the parade as a function of the angle x. a = 26.
A)d = 26tan x
B)d = 26sec x
C)d = 26cos x
D)d = 26cot x
E)d = 26sin x

Question

A television camera is on a reviewing platform a meters from the street on which a parade will be passing from left to right (see figure).Write the distance d from the camera to a particular unit in the parade as a function of the angle x. a = 26. 
A)d = 26tan x 
B)d = 26sec x 
C)d = 26cos x 
D)d = 26cot x 
E)d = 26sin x

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Based on the figure, we can see that the distance from the camera to a point in the parade is the hypotenuse of a right triangle with adjacent side a (the distance from the camera to the reviewing platform) and opposite side d. Therefore, using trigonometric ratios, we have:

cos x = adjacent/hypotenuse
cos x = a/d

Solving for d, we get:

d = a/cos x

Substituting a=26, we get:

d = 26/cos x
d = 26sec x

Therefore, the best choice is B.

A Television Camera Is on a Reviewing Platform a Meters