You are making a banner for your cousin's birthday party. You start by cutting out triangle pieces of cardstock paper; to not waste paper, you choose to cut the paper diagonally. Each piece of cardstock paper measures five inches in height with a base of three and a half inches. After cutting, what is the approximate angle formed at the base of the triangle?
65°
65°
45°
45°
55°
55°
35°
To find the approximate angle formed at the base of the triangle, we can use trigonometry. The base of the triangle is 3.5 inches, and the height is 5 inches.
The tangent of an angle can be found by dividing the opposite side (the height) by the adjacent side (the base).
Tan(angle) = height/base
Tan(angle) = 5/3.5
Tan(angle) ≈ 1.42857
Now, we can use the inverse tangent function (arctan) to find the angle.
Angle ≈ arctan(1.42857)
Angle ≈ 54.597°
Rounded to the nearest degree, the approximate angle formed at the base of the triangle is 55°. Therefore, the correct answer is:
55°