Angle of elevation
- CBSE · NCERT Class 10, Ch 9 Some Applications of Trigonometry
The angle of elevation is the angle between the horizontal and the line of sight when you look up at something above your eye level.
You raise your head to see the top of a tower. The angle your line of sight makes with the flat ground line is the angle of elevation. The height, the distance and the line of sight form a right triangle. So tan links the height to the distance.
A small example
You stand 20 m from the foot of a tower. The angle of elevation of its top is 60°. Then tan 60° = height ÷ 20. Since tan 60° = √3, the height is 20√3 m. That is about 34.6 m, taking √3 as 1.732.
Where marks go
Question 35(B) of CBSE's 2026-27 Maths Basic sample paper has a statue on a pedestal. The angles of elevation of its top and bottom are 60° and 45°. The 2026-27 Maths Basic marking scheme splits the 5 marks like this:
- 1 mark for a correct figure.
- 1 mark for the tan 45° equation, and 1 mark for the tan 60° equation.
- Half a mark for putting the two together.
- 1 mark for the height, and half a mark for the answer line.
Three and a half of the 5 marks come before the height is worked out. This is step marking at work.
Sources
Facts last checked against these sources on 30 September 2026.
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