Question

right triangle trigonometry - sohcahtoa
right triangle trigonometry relates the sides of a right triangle to the angle measures of the two acute angles.
17
63°
x
calculate the value for x.
answer (round to 1 decimal): x = (ie 1.2 or 16.0)

Explanation:

Step1: Identify the trigonometric ratio

We use cosine as $\cos\theta=\frac{\text{adjacent}}{\text{hypotenuse}}$, here $\theta = 63^{\circ}$, adjacent side is $x$ and hypotenuse is $17$.

Step2: Set up the equation

$\cos(63^{\circ})=\frac{x}{17}$.

Step3: Solve for $x$

$x = 17\times\cos(63^{\circ})$. Since $\cos(63^{\circ})\approx0.454$, then $x=17\times0.454 = 7.718\approx7.7$.

Answer:

$7.7$