Study Material — 4 PYQs (2018–2020) · Concept Notes · Shortcuts
AFCAT Heights & Distances is a frequently tested subtopic — 4 previous year questions from 2018–2020 papers are included below with concept notes, key rules and shortcut tricks.
4 questions from actual AFCAT papers · all shown free · click option to reveal solution
Exam Q 12020Previous Year Pattern
A man standing 30 metres away from the base of a tower observes the angle of elevation to the top of the tower to be 60°. Find the height of the tower. (Use √3 ≈ 1.732)
Exam Q 22019Previous Year Pattern
A man standing 40 metres away from the base of a tower observes that the angle of elevation to the top of the tower is 30°. Find the height of the tower. (Use √3 ≈ 1.732)
Exam Q 32018Previous Year Pattern
From the top of a lighthouse 60 m high, the angles of depression of two ships on the same side are 45° and 30°. What is the distance between the two ships?
Exam Q 42019Previous Year Pattern
From a point on the ground 40 m away from the base of a vertical tower, the angle of elevation to the top is 60°. A man climbs to a point on the tower such that the angle of elevation from the same ground point becomes 45°. How many metres did the man climb?
Concept Notes
Heights & Distances— Rules & Concept
Core ConceptRead this first — the foundation of the topic
CORE CONCEPT
When you look up at a tall building, the angle your line of sight makes with the horizontal ground is called the angle of elevation. When you look down from a height, it's called the angle of depression. These angles help us calculate heights and distances we cannot measure directly
KEY RULES
The angle of elevation from point A to point B equals the angle of depression from point B to point A. Always draw a right triangle and identify the opposite side, adjacent side, and hypotenuse clearly. The horizontal distance remains constant in most problems.
Formula BlockMemorise — at least one formula appears in every paper
• tan θ = Height/Base (most used)
• sin θ = Height/Hypotenuse
• cos θ = Base/Hypotenuse
• When angle changes from α to β: New height = Base × (tan β - tan α) + Original height
Exam PatternsWhat examiners ask — read before attempting PYQs
SSC CGL consistently asks 1-2 questions on this topic. Common scenarios include: tower/building height from given distance, finding distance when height is known, problems involving two angles of elevation, lighthouse/ship problems, and ladder-wall problems.
ShortcutsUse these to save 30–60 seconds per question
- ANGLE CHANGE METHOD: When moving closer or farther from an object, use the formula: h = d₁ × tan α = d₂ × tan β, where h is height, d is distance, and α, β are angles. This eliminates the need to calculate height separately.
Worked ExampleSolve this step-by-step before moving on
Effective height to calculate = h - 1.8m (since man has height)
3
Step 3
tan 30° = (h - 1.8)/150
4
Step 4
1/√3 = (h - 1.8)/150
5
Step 5
h - 1.8 = 150/√3 = 150/1.732 = 86.6m
6
Step 6
h = 86.6 + 1.8 = 88.4m
WORKED EXAMPLE 2: From a point on ground, a tree top's angle of elevation is 45°. Moving 20m closer, the angle becomes 60°. Find tree height.
1
Step 1
Let tree height = h, original distance = d
2
Step 2
From original position: tan 45° = h/d, so h = d
3
Step 3
From new position: tan 60° = h/(d-20)
4
Step 4
√3 = h/(d-20) = d/(d-20) [since h = d]
5
Step 5
√3(d-20) = d
6
Step 6
1.732d - 34.64 = d
7
Step 7
0.732d = 34.64, so d = 47.32m
8
Step 8
Tree height h = d = 47.32m
Exam TrapsCommon mistakes students make — avoid these
#1: Students forget to account for the observer's height. When a person observes something, always subtract the person's height from the total height calculated. Many students calculate the total vertical distance but forget the observer is not on the ground level.
ADDITIONAL SHORTCUTS: For 30-60-90 triangles, use ratio 1:√3:2.
For 45-45-90 triangles, use ratio 1:1:√2. When angle of elevation doubles, use the identity tan(2θ) = 2tan(θ)/(1-tan²θ). Remember that complementary angles have reciprocal trigonometric ratios.
Key Points to Remember
Angle of elevation = angle looking up; angle of depression = angle looking down
tan θ = Height/Base is the most frequently used formula in height-distance problems
Always subtract observer's height from total calculated height
Angle of elevation from A to B = Angle of depression from B to A
For 30° angle: tan 30° = 1/√3 = 0.577
For 45° angle: tan 45° = 1
For 60° angle: tan 60° = √3 = 1.732
In two-angle problems, use h = d₁ × tan α = d₂ × tan β shortcut
Draw clear diagrams marking height, base, and angles before solving
Horizontal distance remains same; only vertical measurements change with angle
Exam-Specific Tips
tan 30° = 1/√3 = 0.5774 (exact value)
tan 45° = 1 (exact value)
tan 60° = √3 = 1.732 (exact value)
sin 30° = 1/2 = 0.5
cos 30° = √3/2 = 0.866
sin 45° = cos 45° = 1/√2 = 0.707
sin 60° = √3/2 = 0.866
cos 60° = 1/2 = 0.5
Practice MCQs
Heights & Distances — Practice Questions
45graded MCQs · easy to hard · full solution & trap analysis · showing 20 of 45
A man standing 30 metres away from the base of a tower observes the angle of elevation to the top of the tower as 60°. Find the height of the tower.
Practice 2easy
A ladder leans against a wall such that it makes an angle of 45° with the ground. If the ladder is 10√2 metres long, what is the height at which the ladder touches the wall?
Practice 3easy
A ladder leans against a wall such that its foot is 6 metres away from the wall. The angle of elevation from the foot of the ladder to the top of the wall is 45°. What is the height of the wall?
Practice 4easy
A vertical pole of height 15 metres casts a shadow of 15 metres on the ground. What is the angle of elevation of the sun?
Practice 5easy
An observer standing on the ground sees the top of a tree at an angle of elevation of 30°. If the observer moves 10 metres closer to the tree, the angle of elevation becomes 60°. Find the height of the tree.
Practice 6easy
From a point on the ground, the angle of elevation to the top of a 20-metre tall building is 45°. How far is the point from the base of the building?
Practice 7easy
From the top of a cliff 80 metres high, the angle of depression to a boat in the sea is 30°. How far is the boat from the base of the cliff? (Use √3 = 1.732)
Practice 8easy
A man standing 30 metres away from the base of a tower observes that the angle of elevation to the top of the tower is 60°. Find the height of the tower. (Use √3 = 1.732)
Practice 9easy
From the top of a 40-metre-high cliff, a person observes a boat in the sea at an angle of depression of 30°. How far is the boat from the base of the cliff?
Practice 10easy
A person standing on the roof of a 20-metre-high building observes the angle of depression to a point on the ground to be 45°. What is the horizontal distance from the building to that point?
Practice 11easy
An observer on the ground sees the top of a tree at an angle of elevation of 30°. If the observer moves 20 metres closer to the tree, the angle of elevation becomes 60°. Find the height of the tree.
Practice 12easy
From a point on the ground 50 metres away from the base of a building, the angle of elevation to the top is 45°. What is the height of the building?
Practice 13easy
From the top of a cliff 80 metres high, the angle of depression to a boat on the water is 30°. How far is the boat from the base of the cliff?
Practice 14easy
Two buildings are 50 metres apart. From the top of the first building (height 30 m), the angle of depression to the top of the second building is 15°. What is the height of the second building? (Use tan(15°) ≈ 0.27)
Practice 15easy
A man standing 30 metres away from the base of a tower observes the angle of elevation to the top of the tower to be 60°. Find the height of the tower.
Practice 16easy
From the top of a cliff 80 metres high, the angle of depression to a boat in the sea is 30°. What is the horizontal distance of the boat from the base of the cliff?
Practice 17easy
A man standing 30 metres away from the base of a tower observes the angle of elevation to the top of the tower to be 60°. Find the height of the tower.
Practice 18medium
A ladder leans against a vertical wall. The angle between the ladder and the ground is 60°. If the ladder is 10 metres long, how far is the base of the ladder from the wall?
Practice 19medium
From the top of a cliff 80 metres high, the angle of depression to a boat on the water is 45°. What is the horizontal distance of the boat from the base of the cliff?
Practice 20medium
From a point on the ground, the angle of elevation to the top of a tree is 45°. If the observer moves 10 m closer to the tree, the angle of elevation becomes 60°. Find the height of the tree (in metres). [Use √3 ≈ 1.732]
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