A triangle has two angles, one 90 degrees, the other (between adjacent and hypotamuse) 26 degrees, and a hypotamuse of 10ft. Find the opposite side's length.
Hint: use sine.
I think I'm supposed to do 10(sine26), but the answer isn't right. What am I missing?
Thanks!
opposite side is 10sin26° , so you are correct
10sin26°
= 10(.43837...
= appr 4.38
make sure your calculator is switched to degrees and not radians
on most calculators , it will show DEG somewhere in your display. If you see RAD, look for a key DRG and press it repeatedly until you see the DEG.
You should then get my results.
To find the length of the opposite side of a right triangle, you can indeed use the sine function. The correct formula to use in this case is:
opposite side = hypotenuse * sine(angle)
A common mistake is using the wrong angle when calculating the sine. In this case, you are looking for the length of the side opposite the 26-degree angle. Therefore, you should use:
opposite side = 10 * sine(26 degrees)
Now, let's calculate the correct answer:
opposite side = 10 * sine(26 degrees)
opposite side ≈ 10 * 0.438
Using a calculator, you can find that sine(26 degrees) ≈ 0.438.
opposite side ≈ 10 * 0.438
opposite side ≈ 4.38 ft
Therefore, the length of the opposite side is approximately 4.38 feet.