Construction paper will make a more durable clinometer, but you can use any sheet of paper. You may want to tape or glue the triangle together to make it sturdier.
When this happens, it means the angle of elevation between your eye and the top of the object is 45 degrees. If you crouch or stand on an object to find a better position, you’ll need to measure your height at eye level while in that position, instead of when standing normally as described in a later step.
If you don’t have a tape measure, walk normally towards the tall object and count how many steps it takes to get there. Later, when you have a ruler, measure the length of one step and multiply by the number of steps you took to find the total distance (and therefore the height of the object).
For example, if your eye level is 5 feet (1. 5 m) and the distance between you and a tree are 45 feet (14 m), the total height of the tree is 50 feet (15 m).
If you don’t want to buy one, you can search online for a printable protractor. Print it out, cut it very carefully along its outline, and glue the paper protractor to something a little sturdier, such as construction paper or an index card.
If you don’t have a straw, roll a piece of paper into a tight cylinder and use that instead.
If you don’t have a straw, roll a piece of paper into a tight cylinder and use that instead.
If you don’t have a straw, roll a piece of paper into a tight cylinder and use that instead.
If you are using a paper protractor, you can punch the hole yourself with a sharp pen or hole punch. Do not try to punch a hole in a plastic protractor, as it is probably made from weak plastic and could shatter.
The angle of elevation will always be less than 90º since 90º is straight up in the sky. The answer will always be positive (greater than 0º). If you subtract the larger number from the smaller and get a negative number, just cross out the minus sign to get the right answer. For example, if you calculate that 60-90=-30º, the actual angle of elevation is +30º.
You can use a scientific or graphing calculator, an online tangent calculator, or a chart listing tangents for various angles. To calculate the tangent on a calculator, press TAN and enter the angle you found. If the answer is below 0 or above 1, set your calculator to degrees instead of radians and try again.
Some protractors have rulers marked along the straight edge.
For example, if the angle of elevation was 35º, and your distance from the object was 45 units, the object’s height equals 45 x tangent(35º), or 31. 5 units. Add your own height at eye level to your answer, since that’s how far your clinometer was above the ground.
