A balloon rises at the rate of 8 ft/sec from a point on the ground 60 ft from the observer. How to find the rate of change of the angle of elevation when the balloon is 25 ft above the ground?

sosterrm0m

sosterrm0m

Answered question

2023-02-15

A balloon rises at the rate of 8 ft/sec from a point on the ground 60 ft from the observer. How to find the rate of change of the angle of elevation when the balloon is 25 ft above the ground?

Answer & Explanation

affwysaumlgx

affwysaumlgx

Beginner2023-02-16Added 12 answers

To address this rate (of change) issue:
Let y = the height of the balloon and let θ = the angle of elevation.
We are told that d y d t = 8 ft/sec.
We are asked to find d θ d t when y = 25 ft.
Draw a right triangle with base = 60 ft (that doesn't change), height y and angle opposite height θ
Then tan θ = y 60 and y = 60 tan θ
Differentiating in relation to t results in:
d d t ( y ) = d d t ( 60 tan θ )
d y d t = 60 sec 2 θ d θ d t
We are asked to find d θ d t when y = 25
We have: 8 = 60 sec 2 θ d θ d t , so
d θ d t = 8 60 cos 2 θ = 2 15 cos 2 θ
We need cos θ when y = 25
With base = 60 and height = 25, we get hypotneuse c = 60 2 + 25 2 = ( 5 12 ) 2 + ( 5 5 ) 2 = 5 ( 12 ) 2 + ( 5 ) 2 = 5 13 = 65
So, when y = 25 , we have: cos θ = 60 65 = 12 13
So
d θ d t = 2 15 cos 2 θ = 2 15 ( 12 13 ) 2 = 96 845 radians / sec
(Remember, in order to use d d θ ( tan θ ) = sec 2 θ , we must have θ either a real number or the radian (not degree) measure of an angle.)

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