Statement Problem: Shane is a building engineer and is determining the length of an access ramp needed to reach a step 1.5 feet off the ground. He knows the length of the ramp, r, in feet, can be expressed with the equation below.
First, Shane finds that sin(4.5°) ≈ 0.08. Using his calculator, he then calculates the length of the ramp as shown below.
What could Shane do to make his calculation more accurate?
Solution:
The length of the ramp, r, in feet is expressed using the sine ratio;
[tex]\begin{gathered} \sin \theta=\frac{opposite}{hypotenuse} \\ \sin 4.5^o=\frac{1.5}{r} \\ r=(\frac{1.5}{\sin 4.5})ft \\ \end{gathered}[/tex]
Hence, Shane's calculation would be more accurate if he uses sin (4.5 degrees) in his calculator instead of 0.08
CORRECT OPTION: A
