A tall tower is constructed on the side of a hill with uniform incline. Two guy wires are attached to the top of the tower and to points on the ground 50.0 feet from the tower - one directly up-slope and one directly down-slope. If the wires are 284.7 feet and 303.5 feet respectively, what is the angle of incline of the hill and how high is the tower?

(In reply to Solution - Spoiler by Kenny M)

If we let d = 303.5, u = 284.7, and s = 50; then your equations
become

     d^2 = h^2 + s^2 + 2*h*s*sin(A)
                    and
     u^2 = h^2 + s^2 - 2*h*s*sin(A)

Using these two equations

     we can solve for h and A with d, u, and s given

                or

     we can solve for d and u with h, A, and s given.

Note: The second option is what I think Jer did to get d and u.

Edited on June 19, 2014, 12:04 am

Posted by Bractals on 2014-06-18 23:01:50