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Conference rusure::math

Title:Mathematics at DEC
Moderator:RUSURE::EDP
Created:Mon Feb 03 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:2083
Total number of notes:14613

1894.0. "College Math Journal 532" by RUSURE::EDP (Always mount a scratch monkey.) Wed Sep 07 1994 17:22

    Proposed by Mike Chamberlain and Mark D. Meyerson, United STates Naval
    Academy, Annapolis, MD
    
    You are standing on level ground in front of a billboard.  When you
    look up at it, the top of the billboard measures a feet up the support
    from eye level and the bottom of the billboard measures b feet up the
    support from eye level.  You wish to position yourself in order to
    maximize your "viewing angle" (the angle between the lines of sight of
    the top and bottom of the billboard).  However, a storm has tilted the
    billboard, as shown in the accompanying figure.  For 0 < phi < pi and 0
    < b < a, find the distance x that maximizes theta.
    
    [In the figure below, b = DB, a-b = DC, phi = angle ABC, and theta =
    angle DAC.]
    
                         C
                        /
                      '/
                    ' /
       lines      '  /
       of ->    '   /
       sight  '    /  <- billboard
       |    '     /
       v  '      /       
        '      '/D
      '   '    / <- support
    ''________/
    A         B
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