Question:hard

A boy standing on a horizontal plane is flying a kite with a string of length 60 m, at an angle of elevation of $30^\circ$. Another boy standing on the roof of a 20 m high building, finds the angle of elevation of same kite to be $45^\circ$. If both the 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. (Use $\sqrt{3} = 1.73$)

Show Hint

Always pay attention to the phrase "opposite sides of the kite".
This means you must ADD the two horizontal distances ($D = x_1 + x_2$).
If they were on the "same side", you would have to SUBTRACT them ($D = x_1 - x_2$).
Updated On: Jul 7, 2026
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Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Use the tangent ratio together with Pythagoras' theorem as simultaneous equations, instead of using sine and cosine separately.
Let $H$ be the height of the kite above the ground and $x_1$ be the horizontal distance from the first boy to the point on the ground directly below the kite.
Using the angle of elevation $30^\circ$ and the tangent ratio:
\[ \tan(30^\circ) = \frac{H}{x_1} \implies H = \frac{x_1}{\sqrt{3}} \quad \text{(Equation 1)} \]
The string itself is the hypotenuse of this right triangle, with length $60$ m, so by Pythagoras' theorem:
\[ x_1^2 + H^2 = 60^2 = 3600 \quad \text{(Equation 2)} \]

Step 2: Substitute Equation 1 into Equation 2 to solve for x1 first.
\[ x_1^2 + \left(\frac{x_1}{\sqrt{3}}\right)^2 = 3600 \]
\[ x_1^2 + \frac{x_1^2}{3} = 3600 \]
\[ \frac{3x_1^2 + x_1^2}{3} = 3600 \]
\[ \frac{4x_1^2}{3} = 3600 \]
\[ x_1^2 = 2700 \]
\[ x_1 = \sqrt{2700} = \sqrt{900 \times 3} = 30\sqrt{3} \text{ m} \]

Step 3: Substitute back into Equation 1 to find H.
\[ H = \frac{x_1}{\sqrt{3}} = \frac{30\sqrt{3}}{\sqrt{3}} = 30 \text{ m} \]
So the height of the kite above the ground is $30$ m.

Step 4: Handle the second boy's triangle, on the rooftop.
The second boy stands on a $20$ m building, so the kite's height above his eye level (roof) is:
\[ H - 20 = 30 - 20 = 10 \text{ m} \]
Let $x_2$ be his horizontal distance from the point below the kite. Using the $45^\circ$ angle of elevation:
\[ \tan(45^\circ) = \frac{10}{x_2} \implies 1 = \frac{10}{x_2} \implies x_2 = 10 \text{ m} \]

Step 5: Add the two horizontal distances, since the boys are on opposite sides of the kite.
\[ \text{Distance} = x_1 + x_2 = 30\sqrt{3} + 10 \]
Using $\sqrt{3} = 1.73$:
\[ \text{Distance} = 30(1.73) + 10 = 51.9 + 10 = 61.9 \text{ m} \]

Final Answer:
The height of the kite from the ground is $30$ m, and the distance of the first boy from the base of the building is $61.9$ m. \[ \boxed{H = 30 \text{ m},\ \text{Distance} = 61.9 \text{ m}} \]
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