SOLUTION: A supplement of an angle has a measure of 20 more than three times its complement. Find the measure of the angle. (The original angle.)

Question 1203921: A supplement of an angle has a measure of 20 more than three times its complement. Find the measure of the angle. (The original angle.)
Found 3 solutions by ikleyn, josgarithmetic, MathTherapy:
Answer by ikleyn(52847)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
.

When the problem is worded this way, it is ambiguous.

It is ambiguous, because it is unclear, who is "its complement":

        is it the complement to the "an angle", or to the "supplement of an angle".

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Comment from student : The complement is a complement to the an angle

My response : How do you know, which interpretation to use ?

Because it is YOU who composes these "problems" ?

        Unhappy are those students who receive
        such assignments from their “teachers”.

Answer by josgarithmetic(39625)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
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A supplement of an angle has a measure of 20 more than three times its complement.
Find the measure of the angle. (The original angle.)
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, to be "a supplement of an angle x"

The description is potentially not clear.
Maybe to mean this: .
Solve and see what happens.

-----------maybe. In fact, this is not a complement of any angle!

If that is not what you hoped for then maybe you could make the correct change to the problem description.

Maybe you meant for this: .

-------------this would make more sense.
Answer by MathTherapy(10555)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!

A supplement of an angle has a measure of 20 more than three times its complement. Find the measure of the angle. (The original angle.) Let angle be A Supplement of the angle: 180 - A Complement of the angle: 90 - A We then get: 180 - A = 3(90 - A) + 20 180 - A = 270 - 3A + 20 - A + 3A = 270 + 20 - 180 2A = 110 Measure of the angle, or

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