Question

emilio is building a wheelchair ramp. the top of the ramp will be 21 centimeters high. the ramp will be inclined at an angle of 5°. find the length of the ramp, x. round your answer to the nearest whole number. centimeters

Explanation:

Step1: Use the sine function

In a right - triangle, \(\sin\theta=\frac{\text{opposite}}{\text{hypotenuse}}\). Here, \(\theta = 5^{\circ}\), the opposite side to the angle \(\theta\) is \(21\) cm and the hypotenuse is \(x\) cm. So, \(\sin(5^{\circ})=\frac{21}{x}\).

Step2: Solve for \(x\)

We can rewrite the equation as \(x=\frac{21}{\sin(5^{\circ})}\). Since \(\sin(5^{\circ})\approx0.08716\), then \(x=\frac{21}{0.08716}\approx241\).

Answer:

\(241\) centimeters