Example 2

A 7.4 m guy wire is used to anchor a telephone pole to a point 2.9 m from the base of the pole. What angle is formed between the ground and the wire? Express your answer to the nearest degree.

Begin by sketching a diagram to represent the situation.

The length adjacent to ΞΈ and the hypotenuse are known, so you can use the cosine ratio.

The angle between the guy wire and the ground is approximately 67ΒΊ.