North Carolina RADAR State Practice Exam 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

To determine at what distance down the road a beam with an 11-degree angle is more than 38 feet wide, it’s essential to use basic trigonometry. The width of the beam can be conceptualized as the horizontal distance across the beam from one edge to the other, depending on the distance from the source of the beam.

The formula to calculate the width of the beam at a given distance (d) from the source, given an angle (θ), is:

Width = d × tan(θ).

Thus, when we set the width equal to 38 feet, we can express the equation as follows:

38 feet = d × tan(11 degrees).

To find d, we rearrange the equation:

d = 38 feet / tan(11 degrees).

By calculating the value of tan(11 degrees) and plugging it into the equation, we can determine the distance at which the beam reaches more than 38 feet in width.

Calculating this gives:

tan(11 degrees) ≈ 0.1944 (approximately),

So,

d ≈ 38 feet / 0.1944 ≈ 195.5 feet.

Rounding this value, we conclude that at a distance of about 200 feet