NCERT Exemplar Solutions
Class 10 - Mathematics - CHAPTER 8: Introduction to Trignometry and Its Applications - Exercise 8.2
Question 7

Question. 7

If the length of the shadow of a tower is increasing, then the angle of elevation of the sun is also increasing.

Answer:

False.

Detailed Answer with Explanation:

Step 1: Suppose the height of the tower is \(h\) metres (a fixed value). Let the length of the shadow on the ground be \(d\) metres.

Step 2: In a right-angled triangle, the angle of elevation \(\theta\) of the sun is given by:

\[ \tan \theta = \dfrac{\text{Opposite side}}{\text{Adjacent side}} = \dfrac{h}{d} \]

Step 3: Since the tower’s height \(h\) is constant, the only changing quantity is the shadow length \(d\).

Step 4: If the shadow becomes longer (\(d\) increases in metres), the fraction \(\dfrac{h}{d}\) becomes smaller.

Step 5: When \(\tan \theta\) decreases, the angle \(\theta\) (angle of elevation of the sun) also decreases.

Step 6: Therefore, as the shadow length increases, the angle of elevation of the sun decreases, not increases.

NCERT Exemplar Solutions Class 10 – Mathematics – CHAPTER 8: Introduction to Trignometry and Its Applications – Exercise 8.2 | Detailed Answers