Tyler B.

asked • 12/12/16

Trig help finding an angle with little information

I need help finding an angle with very little information. I have a right angle, we'll call it ABC, B being the 90 degree angle. Let abc equal the side opposite the corrisponding angle, (b=the hypotenus).
 
Information we are given:
Angle B=90 degrees 
Side b= 10ft
side c = 3ft + x
 
The angle I need to find is angle A
 

1 Expert Answer

By:

Mark M. answered • 12/12/16

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Draw and label a diagram (note that the right angle is usually designated as angle C)
cos A = (x + 3) / 10
 
Can you solve for x?
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Tyler B.

To me it doesn't look like enough information to solve for x or for A
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12/12/16

Tyler B.

10cosA +3=x
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12/12/16

Tyler B.

would it be 71.57 degrees for A?
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12/12/16

Mark M.

Yes,Tyler, the information is insufficient.
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12/12/16

Tyler B.

I figured if you had x you can then use the whole a/sinA=b/sinB=c/sinB, and then using 10cosA+3/sinA=10/sin90
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12/12/16

Mark M.

The Law of Sines would require a definite value for one angle and the side opposite. That is not given. No measure for A or BC (side a) and c contains a variable.
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12/12/16

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