Page 248 - ABCTE Study Guide_Neat
P. 248
Question:
Which of the following is the best approximation for leg x in the triangle below? Note that the cos50° is
.574, the sin50° is .766, and the tan50° is 1.19.
A 4 ft.
B 5.7 ft.
C 7.9 ft.
D 12.2 ft.
Answer
Choice A is the correct answer. We’re given an angle measure and the hypotenuse. We want to find the
length of the side adjacent to the given angle, so we need a trig formula that relates the measure of an
angle to the adjacent side and to the hypotenuse. The cosine function does that.
The value of x is about 4 ft.
If you answered B, you may have used the sine function instead of the cosine function.
Review
• The perimeter of a triangle is the sum of the lengths of the sides of the triangle.
• The area of a triangle is given by the formula , where b is the base and h is the
height, and the base and height are perpendicular.
