Angles of Elevation and

Depression
 Angles of Elevation and
Depression

Objectives:

• Solve problems involving angles of

elevation and depression.

• Use angles of elevation and

depression to find the distance
between two objects.
 Vocabulary
Definitions
Angle of elevation – the angle formed by a horizontal
line and an observer’s line of sight to an object above
the horizontal line.

Angle of depression – the angle formed by a

horizontal line and an observer’s line of sight to an
object below the horizontal line
 Vocabulary
 Angle of Depression Horizontal Line
and Angle of
Elevation are Equal Angle of Depression

Angle of Elevation

Horizontal Line
 Identifying Angles of
Elevation and Depression
Ð 1 is the angle of depression and Ð 2 is
the angle of elevation. These are alternate
interior angles, therefore they are equal.
1

2
 A Line of Sight Example
 You sight a rock climber on a cliff at a 32o
angle of elevation. The horizontal ground
distance to the cliff is 1000 ft. Find the line of
sight distance to the rock climber.
1000
Cos 32 
x
1000 x
x
Cos 32
32
x  1179 ft
1000 ft
 An Airplane Example
 An airplane pilots sights a life raft at a 26o
angle of depression. The airplane’s altitude is
3 km. What is the airplane’s surface distance
d from the raft?
3
Tan 26  26
d
3 3 km
d
Tan 26 26
d
d  6.2 km
FIND THE HEIGHT OF THE TOWER

Height of tower
= 53 tan 80°
= 300.6m

80º
53m
From the top of a vertical cliff
40 m high, the angle of
depression of an object that is
level with the base of the cliff is
34⁰.  How far is the object from
the base of the cliff?
 Shipping Application

An observer in a lighthouse is 69 ft above

the water. He sights two boats in the water
directly in front of him. The angle of
depression to the nearest boat is 48º. The
angle of depression to the other boat is
22º. What is the distance between the two
boats? Round to the nearest foot.