Precalculus: Mathematics for Calculus, 7th Edition

Published by Brooks Cole
ISBN 10: 1305071751
ISBN 13: 978-1-30507-175-9

Chapter 6 - Section 6.2 - Trigonometry of Right Triangles - 6.2 Exercises - Page 488: 42

Answer

$\angle A=\dfrac{\pi}{3}$ $a\approx41.73$ $;$ $h\approx83.48$

Work Step by Step

The triangle is shown in the attached image below. Two angles are known. Let $\angle A$ be the unknown angle, $\angle B$ be the angle marked as $\dfrac{\pi}{6}$ and $\angle C$ be the right angle. Since $\angle A+\angle B+\angle C=\pi$, substitute the known angles into the formula and solve for $\angle A$: $\angle A=\pi-\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\dfrac{\pi}{6}=\dfrac{\pi}{3}$ Use the cosine trigonometric ratio of the angle marked as $\dfrac{\pi}{6}$ to find the hypotenuse $h$: $\cos\dfrac{\pi}{6}=\dfrac{72.3}{h}$ $h=\dfrac{72.3}{\cos\dfrac{\pi}{6}}\approx83.48$ Use the Pythagorean Theorem to obtain the unknown cathetus $a$: $a=\sqrt{83.48^{2}-72.3^{2}}\approx41.73$
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