The Statue of Liberty Approaching the
Statue of Liberty on a boat from any direction (on sea level), the
best position for the passengers to look at the statue is at the
distance (from center of the base of the statue) that maximizes the
angle of observation (from the bottom of the gown to the top of the
torch). In fact, note that a) if the boat is too far away from
Liberty Island, the angle of observation is (obviously) too small,
and also b) if the boat is too close to the island, the angle is
also too small (almost vertically up).
No credit for work submitted without the
introduction of your notation (what letters you choose for what
quantities) and without any picture or table.
The Statue of Liberty stands 92 meters high, of which 46 meters
is the height of the pedestal and the other 46 meters is the height
of the statue from the bottom of the gown to the top of the
torch.
a) What distance from the center of the base of the pedestal
gives the maximum angle of observation?
b) What is the maximum angle of observation of the Statue of
Liberty from sea level?