48. The figure below shows a lighthouse keeper looking down at a rowboat on the sea through a navigational instrument. The instrument is 60 feet above sea level and indicates an angle of depression of 53° to the rowboat. Which of the following is closest to the horizontal distance, in feet, between the navigational instrument and the rowboat?

(Note: sin 53°≈0.80, cos 53°≈0.60, tan 53°≈1.33)

Answer and Explanation

Your Answer is

Correct Answer is G

Explanation

The elevation angle of the ship is equal to the depression angle of 53 degrees of the person on the lighthouse, so in the right triangle shown in the figure, the tangent value of the elevation angle of the ship (53 degrees) is equal to 60 divided by the line segment to be obtained, formulate and find 53 After the tangent value of degrees, the required line segment can be solved