MHB Finding the Leg Lengths of a Right Triangle with an Acute Angle of 22°

[xyz_1965]

A right triangle has an acute angle measure of 22°. Which two numbers could represent the lengths of the legs of this triangle?

OPTIONS

a. 2 and 5

b. 1 and 5

c. 3 and 5

d. 4 and 5

I know that each leg represents the sides of the right triangle opposite the hypotenuse. I think the tangent function works best here.

tan(x) = opp/adj

tan(22°) = 0.4040262258

After rounding 0.4040262258 to two decimal places, I get 0.40.

I will divide the left side number by the right side number per choice given.

2/5 = 0.40

1/5 = 0.20

3/5 = 0.80

4/5 = 0.80

I say the answer is choice a.

Choice a = tan(22°).

Is this correct?

 

[MarkFL]

Looks good.

 

[xyz_1965]

Looks good.

Thank you, Mark. Check your PM here.