The wire forms the hypotenuse of a right triangle. The pole height is the side opposite the angle $\theta$ that the wire makes with the ground.

• Hypotenuse (wire) $= 12$ ft
• Opposite side (pole height) $= 8$ ft

Using the sine ratio:

$\sin\theta = \frac{\text{opposite}}{\text{hypotenuse}} = \frac{8}{12}$

$\theta = \sin^{-1}\!\left(\frac{8}{12}\right)$