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ESTIMATIONOFTREEHEIGHT:RIGHTTRIANGLETRIGONOMETRY
Introduction:Scientistsstudyingaforestecosystemoveralongperiodoftimemayrecordmeasurementsoftreesforanumberof
variables,includingeachtree'sdiameteratbreastheight,heightofthelowestlivingbranch,canopycover,etc.Oneaspectofatree's
growththatcanbehardtomeasureistreeheight.Forestresearcherssometimesuseapieceofequipmentconsistingoftelescoping
components,whichareextendeduntilthetipreachesthesameheightasthetreetop(thisrequiresasecondresearcherstandingata
distancefromthetreetodeterminewhenthetipisatthecorrectheight).Thismethodcanbecumbersome,astheequipmentisbulkyand
themeasurementsrequiretwopeople.
Importance:Themeasurementoftreegrowthinaforestovertimeprovidesimportantinformationaboutthedynamicsofthatecosystem.
Growthratescanreflect,amongotherthings,differingavailabilityofwater,carbohydrates,ornutrientsindifferentsitesorfromseasonto
seasonoryeartoyear.
Question:Isthereanefficientwaytomeasuretreeheight,withoutheavyequipmentandmultiplepeople?
Variables:
anacuteangleofaright
triangle
x

sideofatriangleadjacentto
theangle

sideofatriangleoppositethe
angle

thehypotenuseofatriangle

Methods:Trigonometryisabranchofmathematicsdealingwithmeasurementsoftheanglesandsidesoftriangles,andfunctionsbased
onthesemeasurements.Thethreebasictrigonometricfunctionsthatweareconcernedwithhere(sine,cosine,andtangent)areratiosof
thelengthsoftwosidesofatriangle.Theseratiosarethetrigonometricfunctionsofanangle,theta,suchthat

where(theta)istheangleofinterest,"opp"isthelengthofthesideofthetriangleopposite(y),"hyp"isthelengthofthehypotenuse
(z),and"adj"isthelengthofthesideadjacenttotheangle(x),asillustratedonthetrianglebelow.

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Ifweknowthelengthsoftwosidesofarighttriangle(recallfromgeometrythatarighttrianglehasoneanglethatis90degrees[aright
angle]),wecancalculatethelengthofthethirdsideusingthePythagoreantheorem(opp2+adj2=hyp2,ory2+x2=z2).Forthetriangle
below,thesideoppositeisthreeunitsinlength,andthesideadjacenttois1.5unitsinlength.

Thelengthofthehypotenuseiscalculated32+1.52=hyp2=11.25.Takingthesquarerootof11.25,wefindthatthehypotenuseis
approximately3.35unitslong.Wenowknowthelengthsofeachofthesidesofthetriangle,andcanusethesetofindvaluesforthe
trigonometricfunctions:

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Butwhatcanwedowiththisinformation?Well,foronethingwecanuseittofindbytakingtheinverseofanyofthefunctions(forour
purposesherecandothisusingacalculator).Doingthisweseethatisanangleofapproximately63.4degrees.
Thedrawingbelowshowsaforestermeasuringatree'sheightusingtrigonometry.Assumingthatthetreeisatarightangletotheplaneon
whichtheforesterisstanding,thebaseofthetree,thetopofthetree,andtheforesterformthevertices(orcorners)ofarighttriangle.The
forestermeasureshisorherdistancefromthebaseofthetree,andthenusesaclinometer(asmallinstrumentthatmeasuresinclination,or
angleofelevation)tolookatthetopofthetreeanddetermine.

Interpretation:Inthissituation,ratherthanknowingthelengthsofallofthesides,weknowandthelengthoftheadjacentside(x),and
areinterestedindeterminingthelengthoftheoppositeside(y,theheightofthetree).Whichofthethreetrigonometricfunctionsdeals
withtheadjacentandoppositesides?

Weknow,andweknow"adj"(orx)multiplyingbothsidesoftheequationby"adj"orxandsubstitutingourknownvalues,weget

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Thetreeisapproximately44feettall.
Conclusions:Trigonometryhasmanyrealworldapplications.Intheexamplehere,itcanbeusedsothatforestresearchersdon'thaveto
carryaroundadditionalequipmentandareabletocollectthenecessaryinformationforcalculatingtreeheightsquicklyandefficientlyin
thefield.
AdditionalQuestions:
1)Youknowfromyourgeometryclassthatalltheanglesofatrianglemustsumto180degrees.Therefore,thethirdanglefromthetree
andforestertrianglemustbe(180degrees90degrees31.8degrees)=58.2degrees.Verifythisusingthethreetrigonometricfunctions
(notethatforthisangle,yistheadjacentsideandxistheoppositeside).
2)Whatwouldtheangleofelevation()beifthetreewas100ft.tall?
Sources:
Larson,R.E.,R.P.Hostetler,andB.H.Edwards.1993.Precalculus:AGraphingApproach.D.C.HeathandCompany,Lexington,MA.
Waring,R.H.andW.H.Schlesinger.1985.ForestEcosystems:ConceptsandManagement.AcademicPress,Inc.SanDiego,CA.
copyright2000M.Beals,L.Gross,S.Harrell

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