Solve a triangle with b =7, c =10, and A=51. Round to the nearest tenth.

Question

I need help! At this point i just don't understand it all and there is no point to learn it since we will be moving on to a new lesson after. 

Answer 1

Hi Fernando--

 

First, are you sure about your capital letters and lowercase ones? it makes a difference! If you're sure they're ok, then...

 

b and c are one leg and the hypotenuse of a triangle, and A (since it's capitalized) is one of the angles.

 

If they didn't give any more info than this, let's assume that it's a right triangle, which means you can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the missing leg.

 

a squared plus 7 squared = 10 squared

 

so a squared plus 49 = 100, which means a (the missing leg) is the square root of 51. (you'd have to use a calculator but it's going to be "7 point-something-very-small...")

 

You also have an angle of 51 degrees (coincidence) and since we've decided it's a right triangle, you know you also have a 90 degree angle, which means the third angle has to be 39 degrees. (The 3 angles in any triangle have to add up to 180 degrees.)

 

So now you have your 3 sides and your 3 angles!

 

Hope this helps, but make sure you've worded your question the way you meant, especially in terms of cap and lowercase letters--otherwise this will NOT be the solution you're looking for!

 

All best,

 

Matt in New York