Precalculus: Mathematics for Calculus, 7th Edition

Published by Brooks Cole
ISBN 10: 1305071751
ISBN 13: 978-1-30507-175-9

Chapter 6 - Section 6.2 - Trigonometry of Right Triangles - 6.2 Exercises - Page 490: 69

Answer

$3960mi$

Work Step by Step

Step 1. Identify the quantities: angle $\theta=60.276^\circ$, height of satellite $h=600mi$, radius of the Earth $R$ Step 2. In the right triangle given in the figure of the problem, the hypotenuse is $R+h$, and $sin\theta=\frac{R}{R+h}$, so that $R=(R+600)sin60.276^\circ$ which gives $(1-sin60.276^\circ)R=600sin60.276^\circ$ and $R=\frac{600sin60.276^\circ}{1-sin60.276^\circ}\approx3960mi$
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