Module 7: Triangle Trigonometry

Lesson 3: Angles of Elevation and Angles of Depression

Learning Competency 45: Illustrate angles of elevation and angles of
depression

I. OBJECTIVES
a. Illustrate angles of elevation and angles of depression;
b. Distinguish between angle of elevation and angle of depression; and
c. Solve problems involving angles of elevation and depression
d. Appreciate the value of computational techniques in manipulating
trigonometric ratios to solved problems with angles of elevation and
depression.

I. SUBJECT MATTER
Topic: Triangle Trigonometry
Sub – topic: Angles of Elevation and Angles of Depression
Materials: Activity Sheets, laptop and monitor
References: Learner’s Materials pages 457 - 466
Teacher’s Guide pages 284 – 286

II. PROCEDURES

A. Preliminaries

1. Activating Prior Knowledge and Purpose Setting

1.a Motivation:
Activity 1: Look Up! Look Down!
Follow the steps below and answer the questions that follow.
 Use a tape measure to measure the distance between your eyes and
feet.
 Move around the room and find an object that is at the exact height as
your eyes and label a picture.
 Go outside the room and make an illustration of:
i. Tall objects/structures
ii. Short objects/structures

1.b Motive Question:

 Describe the illustration or picture you have created from the activity.
 What mathematical concepts did you learn from the activity? When you
look up to tall objects is there an angle formed? What about when you
look down?
 Do you think you can directly measure the height, the distance of the
object you have listed in the activity?
B. Lesson Proper
1. Teaching/ Modelling
Definition of terms:
 Line of sight – is an imaginary line that connects the eye of an
observer to the object being observed.
 Angle of Elevation – is the angle from the horizontal to the line of
sight of the observer to the object above.
 Angle of Depression – is the angle from the horizontal to the line
of sight of the observer to the object below.

2.a Illustrative Examples

Example no. 1 (angle of depression)

A hiker is 400 meters away from the base of the radio tower. The
angle of elevation to the top of the tower is 460. How high is the
tower?

Solution:

Step 1: Draw a sketch of the situation.

Step 2: Mark in the given angle of elevation or depression.

Angle of depression
0
46

400 meter
 Step 3: Use trigonometry to find the required missing length

Solution:

Tan 460 =

= 414.20 m

Example no. 2 (angle of elevation)

A man who is 2 m tall stands on horizontal ground 30 m from a tree.

The angle of elevation of the top of the tree from his eyes is 28˚.
Estimate the height of the tree.

Solution:

Step 1: Draw a sketch of the situation.

Step 2: Mark in the given angle of elevation or depression.

Let the height of the tree be h. Sketch a diagram to represent the

ituation.

Step 3: Use trigonometry to find the required missing length

tan 28˚ =
h – 2 = 30 tan 28˚
h = (30 ´ 0.5317) + 2 ← tan 28˚ = 0.5317
h = 17.951
The height of the tree is approximately 17.95 m.

2. Analysis

 What is/are difference between angle of elevation and angle of

depression?
 How to solve problems involving angles of elevation and
depression
 3. Guided Practice

Problem no. 1: A girl is sitting in the shade under a tree that is 90 ft

from the base of a tower. The angle of elevation from the girl to the
top of the tower is 35 degrees. Find the height of the windmill.

Solution:

Step 1: Draw a sketch of the situation.

Step 2: Mark in the given angle of elevation or depression.
Step 3: Use trigonometry to find the required missing length
Problem no. 2: The angle of depression of a stone on the ground
from the top of a tower is 45. If the stone is at a distance of 120
meters away from the building, find the height of the tower.

Solution:

Step 1: Draw a sketch of the situation.

Step 2: Mark in the given angle of elevation or depression.
Step 3: Use trigonometry to find the required missing length

4. Independent Practice

Try This Out!

a. From two points 100 ft apart in a straight line to the base of a
tree, the angle of elevation to the top of the tree are 38 0 and 530
respectively. Find the height of the tree.
b. An observer in a lighthouse 48.8 m above sea level saw two
vessels moving directly towards the lighthouse. He observed that
the angles of depression are 420 and 350. Find the distance
between the two vessels, assuming that they are coming from the
same side of the tower.

5. Generalization

Things to Remember
 The angle of elevation is the angle between the imaginary line of
sight and horizontal line, where the object is above the
observer.
 The angle of depression is the angle between the imaginary line
of sight and a horizontal line, where the object is below the
observer.
  A trigonometric ratio often helps us set up an equation, which
can then be solved for the missing measurement. If two legs of
the triangle are part of the problem, then it is a tangent ratio. If
the hypotenuse is part of the problem, then it is either a sine or
cosine ratio.

6. Application

Consider the situation below:

A boy who is on the second floor of their house watches his dog
lying on the ground. The angle between his eye level and his line of
sight is 320.
a. Which angle is identified in the problem: angle of elevation or angle
of depression? Justify your answer.
b. If the boy is 3 meters above the ground, approximately how far is the
dog from the house?
c. If the dog is 7 meters from the house, approximately how high is the
boy above the ground?
d. Make an illustration for the situations b and c, and use this
illustration to find the distance between the dog and the house, and
between the boy and the ground

7. Assessment

1. Find the value of the hypotenuse x.

2. Find the measure of angle x.

 3. Find the distance between the man and the tree.

4. Find the measure of

A 4 meters
12 meters
III. ASSIGNMENT

1. Review/ Follow-up

a. Find the height of a hot air balloon

b. Find the measure of angle x above the ground.

2. Study
How do we use right trigonometry in solving real life problems?

Electronic Sources:
http://www.onlinemathlearning.com/angle-of-elevation.html#
http://math.tutorvista.com/trigonometry/angle-of-depression.html
ANSWER:

Assessment:
1. X = 6, 398.26 m
2. X = 59.237⁰
3. X=
4. ˂ A = 18. 43⁰

Assignment:
1. a. X = 44.08 ft.
b. x = 26.57⁰
c. x = 112. 03 ft