Question

right triangle trigonometry - sohcahtoa
right triangle trigonometry relates the sides of a right triangle to the angle measures of the two acute angles.

calculate the value for x.
answer (round to 1 decimal): x = (ie 1.2 or 16.0)

Explanation:

Step1: Identify trigonometric relation

We know $\tan\theta=\frac{\text{opposite}}{\text{adjacent}}$. Here $\theta = 74^{\circ}$, opposite side is $17$ and adjacent side is $x$. So $\tan74^{\circ}=\frac{17}{x}$.

Step2: Solve for $x$

We can rewrite the equation as $x=\frac{17}{\tan74^{\circ}}$. Since $\tan74^{\circ}\approx3.4874$, then $x = \frac{17}{3.4874}\approx6.2$.

Answer:

$6.2$