The angle of elevation of an object as seen by an observer is the angle between the horizontal and the line from

the object to the observer's eye (the line of sight).

If the object is below the level of the observer, then the angle between the horizontal and the observer's line of sight is called the angle of depression.

Suppose that you are looking at an object in the distance. If the object is above you, then the angle of elevation is the angle your eyes look up. If the object is below you, the angle of depression is the angle your eyes look down. Angles of elevation and depression are measured from the horizontal. It is common mistake not to measure the angle of depression from the horizontal.

Using the angle of depression or elevation to an object, and knowing how far away the object is, enables us to find the height of the object using trigonometry. The advantage of doing this is that it is very difficult to measure the height of a mountain or the depth of a canyon directly; it is much easier to measure how far away it is (horizontal distance) and to measure the angle of elevation or depression.

Suppose that we want to find the height of this tree. We mark point A and measure how far it is from the base of the tree. Then we measure the angle of elevation from A to the top of the tree. Now,

we have measured x and , so we can calculate tan( ) and thus we can find h, which is the height of the tree.

The angle of elevation is the angle between a horizontal line from the observer and the line of sight to an object that is above the horizontal line. In the diagram below, AB is the horizontal line. q is the angle of elevation from the observer at A to the object at C .

The angle of depression is the angle between a horizontal line from the observer and the line of sight to an object that is below the horizontal line. In the diagram below, PQ is the horizontal line. q is the angle of depression from the observer at P to the object at R .

Example: In the diagram below, AB and CD are two vertical poles on horizontal ground. Draw in the angle of elevation of D from B and the angle of depression of C from B

Solution:

Example: Two poles on horizontal ground are 60 m apart. The shorter pole is 3 m high. The angle of depression of the top of the shorter pole from the top of the longer pole is 20. Sketch a diagram to represent the situation. Solution:

Step 1 : Draw two vertical lines to represent the shorter pole and the longer pole. Step 2 : Draw a line from the top of the longer pole to the top of the shorter pole. (This is the line of sight).

Step 3 : Draw a horizontal line to the top of the pole and mark in the angle of depression.

bearing in mathematics is the ANGLE in DEGREES measured CLOCKWISE from NORTH. it will thus range between 0 and 360 degrees i think this explanation should be enough.

A bearing is the measure of the angle of travel compared with North. It is always measured in degrees, in the clockwise direction, and given as a 3-digit number. So for example, North = 000 NorthEast = 045 East = 090 South = 180 SouthWest = 225

Specifying a direction is required in many situations, particularly in the nautical world. One of the ways to specify a direction is to state its bearing. More to the point, bearings are a way of expressing angles. Trigonometry is the branch of mathematics that deals with angles. In trigonometry, there are two primary ways of specifying a bearing, a true bearing and a conventional bearing. Converting from both kinds of bearings to an angle is simple and can make deciphering a direction easy.

Compass Direction

The four primary compass directions are north, west, east and south. Each corresponds to an angle. North corresponds to 0 degrees, east is 90 degrees, south is 180 degrees and west is 270 degrees. When it comes to specifying a bearing, north corresponds to the direction that is forward of the current position. In mathematics, north is usually specified as up.

True Bearings

A true bearing is a single number. It is specified as an angle from north. From the direction forward or up, rotate clockwise the specified number of degrees. For a line that is terminated by two points A and B, each point has a true bearing ascribed to it. By placing a vertical line at each point, and counting the degrees from the vertical line clockwise to the drawn line, the bearing of each point can be determined. For a straight line, one point's bearing will be 360 minus the other point's bearing.

Conventional Bearings

A conventional bearing gives three pieces of information: north or south, specifying from which direction the bearing starts; a number specifying the number of degrees; and either west or east, specifying the direction from north or south the direction is. For example, S30W means that the direction is 30 degrees clockwise from south. N40W means 40 degrees counterclockwise from north. For a conventional bearing, there are usually two interchangeable bearings, one for north and one for south. It is a simple case of changing north to south or vice versa, and replacing the angle with 180 minus the angle. In the previous example of S30W, the bearing could also be written as N150W.

Converting Bearings

To convert from a true bearing to a conventional bearing, first determine which of north or south the bearing is closer to. Then determine the number of degrees from that direction the bearing is placed. Finally note to which side, west or east, the bearing is. For example, a true bearing of 190 degrees is 10 degrees from south in the direction of west. The conventional bearing is

then S10W. To go back, just count the degrees from north in the clockwise direction.

Conversion to a Mathematical Angle

One can also convert a bearing to a mathematical angle. A mathematical angle counts degrees counterclockwise from the positive x direction. This is the angle that is used in sine or cosine calculations. To covert to a mathematical angle, start with a true bearing. Then subtract it from 90. A true bearing of 50 degrees is a mathematical angle of 90 - 50 = 40 degrees. A true bearing of 105 degrees is an angle of 90 - 105 = -15 degrees.

Bearing Two similar ways of indicating direction. On the left below is a kind of bearing which uses compass points. The bearing S34E means the direction is 34 away from due south directed towards the east. The other way, on the right below, measures the angle clockwise from due north.

Bearings
A bearing is an angle, measured clockwise from the north direction. Below, the bearing of B from A is 025 degrees (note 3 figures are always given). The bearing of A from B is 205 degrees.

Example A, B and C are three ships. The bearing of A from B is 045. The bearing of C from A is 135. If AB= 8km and AC= 6km, what is the bearing of B from C?

tanC = 8/6, so C = 53.13 y = 180 - 135 = 45 (interior angles) x = 360 - 53.13 - 45 (angles round a point) = 262 (to the nearest whole number)