Angle of inclination from the vertical

Question

The leaning tower of pisa is 179 feet tall, and when the sun is directly overhead, it's shadow measures 16.5 feet. At what angle is the tower inclined from the vertical?

What I did was I found tan inverse of (179/16.5). And then subtracted the angle from 90 to get the other angle. Did I do it correctly?

A subsidiary question: prove that this situation (Sun directly overhead in Pisa) occurs on the 31st of June. — Jean Marie, Nov 10 '16 at 17:24

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 10 '16 at 17:23

1

You get slightly different answers if the length of the tower is given vs. its height is given. In the latter case you are right, in the former, it would be: $90-\arccos(16.5/179)$.

answered Nov 10 '16 at 17:23

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Angle of inclination from the vertical

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