9.
Some Applications of Trigonometry
(QB)
Disha Chadaga
1 Mark Questions
1. A car is moving away from the base of a 30 m high tower. The angle of elevation of the top of
the tower from the car at an instant, when the car is 10√3 m away from the base of the tower,
is: (a) 30° (b) 45° (c) 90° (d) 60°
2. The string of a flying kite is tied to a point on the ground. The length of the string between the
kite and the point on the ground is 80 m. The string makes an angle of 30° with the ground.
The height of the kite above the ground is: (a) 20√3 m (b) 40 m (c) 40√3 m (d) 80√3 m
3. A wire is attached from a point A on the ground to the top of a pole BC, making an angle of
elevation of 60°. If AB = 5√3 m, find the length of the wire. (A) 10 m (B) 10√3 m (C) 15 m (D)
(5/2)√3 m (appears in all three sets)
4. From a point on the ground, 60 m away from the foot of a vertical tower, the angle of elevation
of the top of the tower is 45°. The height (in metres) of the tower is: (A) 10√3 (B) 30√3 (C) 60
(D) 30
5. If the length of the shadow of a tower is √3 times its height, then the altitude of the Sun is: (A)
45° (B) 30° (C) 60° (D) 15°
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4 Mark Questions (incl. Case-Study Based)
1. Tejas is standing at the top of a building and observes a car at an angle of depression of 30°
as it approaches the base of the building at a uniform speed. 6 seconds later, the angle of
depression increases to 60°, and at that moment, the car is 25 m away from the building.
Based on the information given above, answer the following questions:
(i) What is the height of the building?
(ii) What is the distance between the two positions of the car?
(iii) (a) What would be the total time taken by the car to reach the foot of the building from
the starting point? OR
(iii) (b) What is the distance of the observer from the car when it makes an angle of 60°?
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2. A drone is an aircraft without any human pilot and is controlled by a remote-control device. Its
various applications include policing, surveillance, photography, precision agriculture, forest fire
monitoring, river monitoring, and so on. David used an advanced drone with a high-resolution
camera during an expedition in a forest region that could fly up to 100 m height above ground
level. David rode on an open jeep to go deeper into the forest. The initial position of the drone with
respect to the open jeep on which David was riding is shown below.
David’s jeep started moving to enter the forest at an average speed of 10 m/s. He Simultaneously
started flying the drone in the same direction as that of the jeep.
(i) David reached near one of the tallest trees in the forest. He stopped the drone at a horizontal
distance of 5√3 m from the top of the tree and at a vertical distance of 65 m below its maximum
vertical range. If the angle of elevation of the drone from the top of the tree was 30°, find the height
of the tree. Show your work.
David rode on an open jeep to go deeper into the forest. The initial position of the drone with
respect to the open jeep on which David was riding is shown below.
(ii) The drone was flying at a height of 30√3 metres at a constant speed in the horizontal direction
when it spotted a zebra near a pond, right below the drone. The drone travelled for 30 metres from
there and it could see the zebra, at the same place, at an angle of depression of θ from it. Draw a
diagram to represent this situation and find θ.
(iii) After 2 minutes of starting the expedition both the drone and the jeep stopped at the same
moment so that the drone can capture some images. The position of the drone and the jeep when
they stopped is as shown below.
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Find the average speed of the drone in m/s rounded off upto 2 decimal places.
OR
(iii) At some point during the expedition, David kept the drone stationary for some time to capture
the images of a tiger. The angle of depression from the drone to the tiger changed from 30° to 45°
in 3 seconds as shown below.
What was the average speed of the tiger during that time? (Note: Take √3 as 1.73.)
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3. Elevated water storage tanks are built to store and supply water to nearby colonies. In the
diagram given above, AB is an elevated water tank and CD is a nearby multistorey building. The
building is 54 metres away from the water tank.
From a window (W) of the building, the angle of elevation of top of the tank is 45° and angle of
depression of its foot is 30°.
(i) Write a relation between d (the height of window) and y.
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(ii) Determine the value of h.
(iii) (a) Determine height of the water tank.
OR
(b) Find the value of x and height of the window above ground level.
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4. A group of students of class X visited India Gate on an education trip. The teacher and students
had interest in history as well. The teacher narrated that India Gate, official name Delhi Memorial,
originally called All-India War Memorial, monumental sandstone arch in New Delhi, dedicated to
the troops of British India who died in wars fought between 1914 and [Link] teacher also said
that India Gate, which is located at the eastern end of the Rajpath (formerly called the Kingsway),
is about 138 feet (42 metres) in height.
1. What is the angle of elevation if they stand 42 m from the monument?
(a) 30° (b) 45° (c) 60° (d) 0°
2. To see the tower at 60°, find the distance to stand.
(a) 25.24 m (b) 20.12 m (c) 42 m (d) 24.64 m
3. If the Sun's altitude is 60°, height of a vertical tower casting a 20 m shadow is
(a) 20√3 m (b) 20/√3 m (c) 20/3 m (d) 15√3 m
4. Ratio of a rod's length to its shadow is 1:1. Angle of elevation of the Sun is
(a) 30° (b) 45° (c) 60° (d) 90°
5. The angle formed with the horizontal when the object viewed is below the horizontal level is
(a) corresponding angle (b) angle of elevation (c) angle of depression (d) complete angle
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5. A satellite at height h observes the tops of Nanda Devi (7816m) and Mullayanagiri (1930m),
with angles of depression 30° and 60° respectively. Distance between the peaks is 1937 km, and
the satellite is above the midpoint.
1. Distance of the satellite from the top of Nanda Devi:
(a) 1139.4 km (b) 577.52 km (c) 1937 km (d) 1025.36 km
2. Distance of the satellite from the top of Mullayanagiri:
(a) 1139.4 km (b) 577.52 km (c) 1937 km (d) 1025.36 km
3. Distance of the satellite from the ground:
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(a) 1139.4 km (b) 577.52 km (c) 1937 km (d) 1025.36 km
4. Angle of elevation if a man stands 7816m from Nanda Devi:
(a) 30° (b) 45° (c) 60° (d) 0°
5. If a distant milestone makes 45° to the top of Mullayanagiri, find its distance from the mountain.
(a) 1118.327 km (b) 566.976 km (c) 1937 km (d) 1025.36 km
5 Mark Questions
1. A kite is flying at a height of 60 m above ground level. Ravi, standing on the roof of his
house, holds the string straight and observes the angle of elevation of the kite as 30°. From
the bottom of the same building, the angle of elevation of the kite is 45°. Find the length of
the string and the height of the roof from the ground. (Use √3 = 1.73)
2. A man on the top of a vertical tower observes a car moving at a uniform speed coming
directly towards it. If it takes 12 minutes for the angle of depression to change form 30° to
45°, how soon after this, will the car reach the tower? Give your answer to nearest minutes.
(Use √3=1.73)
3. If the angle of elevation of a cloud from a point 10 metres above a lake is 30° and the angle
of depression of its reflection in the lake is 60°, find the height of the cloud from the surface
of the lake
4. Two poles of equal height stand on either side of a 90 m wide road. From a point between
them on the road, the angles of elevation of the tops are 30° and 60° respectively. Find the
height of the poles and the distances of the point from the poles. [Use √3 = 1.732]
5. A vertical tower stands on a horizontal plane and is surmounted by a vertical flagstaff. From
a point on the ground 30 m away from the tower, wires are attached to the top and bottom
of the flagstaff, making angles of elevation 60° and 30° respectively. Find the height of the
tower and the lengths of the wires attached. (√3 = 1.73)
6. The angle of elevation of the top of a building from a point A on the ground is 30°. On
moving a distance of 24 m towards its base to point B, the angle of elevation changes to
60°. Find the height of the building and the distance of point A from the base of the building.
(√3 = 1.73)
7. A tower stands vertically on the ground. A man standing at the top of the tower observes his
friend at an angle of depression of 30°, who is approaching the foot of the tower with
uniform speed. 30 seconds later, this angle becomes 60°. Find the time taken by the friend
to reach the foot of the tower from this point.
8. A boy standing on a horizontal plane is flying a kite with a string of length 60 m, at an angle
of elevation of 30°. Another boy standing on the roof of a 20 m high building finds the angle
of elevation of the same kite to be 45°. If both boys are on opposite sides of the kite, find
the distance of the first boy from the base of the building. Also find the height of the kite
from the ground. (√3 = 1.73)
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Board (CBSE Previous Years 2013–2025) and Pre-Board Exam Questions
Section A: 1-Mark Questions (MCQs & Short Answer)
1. If the length of the shadow of a tower on plane ground is √ 3 times the height of the tower, find the
angle of elevation of the Sun.
2. A ladder 15 m long leans against a wall making an angle of 60∘ with the horizontal. Find the
distance of the foot of the ladder from the wall.
3. A tower AB is 20 m high and BC , its shadow on the ground, is 20 √ 3 m long. Find the Sun's
altitude.
4. If a pole 6 m high casts a shadow 2 √ 3 m long on the ground, then the Sun's elevation is:
(A) 60∘ (B) 45 ∘ (C) 30∘ (D) 90∘
Section B: 2-Mark & 3-Mark Questions (Short Answer)
5. A tree breaks due to a storm and the broken part bends so that the top of the tree touches the
ground making an angle of 30∘ with it. The distance between the foot of the tree to the point where
the top touches the ground is 8 m. Find the height of the tree.
6. From a point on the ground, the angles of elevation of the bottom and the top of a transmission
tower fixed at the top of a 20 m high building are 45 ∘ and 60∘ respectively. Find the height of the
tower.
7. The angle of elevation of the top of a building from the foot of a tower is 30∘ and the angle of
elevation of the top of the tower from the foot of the building is 60∘. If the tower is 50 m high, find
the height of the building.
8. As observed from the top of a 75 m high lighthouse from sea level, the angles of depression of two
ships on the same side are 30∘ and 45 ∘. Find the distance between the two ships.
Section C: 5-Mark Questions (Long Answer)
9. Two poles of equal heights are standing opposite each other on either side of the road, which is
80 m wide. From a point between them on the road, the angles of elevation of the top of the poles
are 60∘ and 30∘ respectively. Find the height of the poles and the distances of the point from the
poles.
10. An aeroplane flying at a constant height of 3000 √ 3 m passes vertically above another plane at an
instant when the angles of elevation of the two planes from the same point on the ground are 60∘
and 45 ∘ respectively. Find the vertical distance between the two planes at that instant.
11. A man in a boat rowing away from a lighthouse 100 m high takes 2 minutes to change the angle of
elevation of the top of the lighthouse from 60∘ to 30∘. Find the speed of the boat in metres per
minute.
Section D: Case Study-Based Question (4 Marks)
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12. A group of Class 10 students visited a wind farm. A wind turbine blades' hub is located at height h.
From a point P on the ground, the angle of elevation of the top of a blade is 60∘ and the angle of
elevation of the hub is 45 ∘. The distance of point P from the foot of the turbine tower is 30 m.
I. Find the height of the hub of the wind turbine from the ground. (1 Mark)
II. Find the total height reached by the tip of the turbine blade. (1 Mark)
III. Find the length of the turbine blade. (2 Marks)