Roman stands across from a flag pole.  What is the distance from Roman's feet to the base of the flag pole?  Round only your final answer to the nearest tenth. (no units- only put the answer)

we have been given a right angled triangle, hypotenuse is known, and angle has been given. we need to find the adjacent side to the angle.

we use trigonometry ratios.
the ratio where we relate the hypotenuse and adjacent side is the cosine.
cos θ = adjacent side / hypotenuse 
where θ = 39°
hypotenuse - 17 m
adjacent side - x
we need to solve for x

cos 39° = x / 17
cos 39° = 0.77
0.7771 = x/17
x = 0.7771 x 17
x = 13.21 m
distance from Roman's feet to the base of the pole is 13.21