Question 964311
the shortest side of a right triangle is 7cm, and one of the acute angles is 64 degrees. find the length of the hypotenuse and the length of the longer leg. round to the nearest tenth of a centimeter.
<pre>Since the shortest side is 7 cm, and the larger ACUTE angle is {{{64^o}}}, then with the hypotenuse being H, we can say that:
{{{cos 64^o = A/H}}}
{{{cos 64^o = 7/H}}}
{{{H * cos 64^o = 7}}} ------ Cross-multiplying
H, or hypotenuse = {{{7/cos 64^o}}}, or {{{15.968}}} &#8776; {{{highlight_green(16)}}} cm
You can now use the hypotenuse (15.968 cm), the shorter leg (7 cm), and the pythagorean formula to determine longer leg.