ANSWER:
53°
The angle of elevation between the ground and the ladder is 53°.
STEP-BY-STEP EXPLANATION:
To begin with, we will visually represent the problem as displayed in the attached diagram.
Trigonometric ratios are only applicable to right-angle triangles. The triangle in the problem is a right-angle triangle. This means we can use trigonometric ratios to solve this problem.
The values given in the problem are as follows:
Let the angle of elevation between the ground and the ladder = x
Hypotenuse of triangle = 25
Opposite side to angle = 20
This means that we will use the trigonometric ratio, sine.
sine ( theta ) = opposite side / hypotenuse
Theta = x
Opposite side = 20
Hypotenus = 25
THEREFORE:
sin ( x ) = 20 / 25
sin ( x ) = 4 / 5
x = sin^-1 ( 4 / 5 )
x = 53.13010235...
x = 53° 7' 48.37" ( in degrees )
x = 53° ( to the nearest degree )
