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Right Triangle Trigonometry Word Problem Examples: Example 1

The document contains 4 examples of solving right triangle trigonometry word problems. Example 1 finds the length of the hypotenuse c given the measure of angle B and the adjacent side a. Example 2 finds the height and horizontal distance of a kite given the angle and length of the string. Example 3 finds the apothem of a regular hexagon inscribed in a circle. Example 4 finds the height of the Washington Monument and distance between it and other landmarks using trigonometric ratios and equations relating sides and angles.

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Suleiman Abdo Mohammed Ali Al-Qahtani
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85 views3 pages

Right Triangle Trigonometry Word Problem Examples: Example 1

The document contains 4 examples of solving right triangle trigonometry word problems. Example 1 finds the length of the hypotenuse c given the measure of angle B and the adjacent side a. Example 2 finds the height and horizontal distance of a kite given the angle and length of the string. Example 3 finds the apothem of a regular hexagon inscribed in a circle. Example 4 finds the height of the Washington Monument and distance between it and other landmarks using trigonometric ratios and equations relating sides and angles.

Uploaded by

Suleiman Abdo Mohammed Ali Al-Qahtani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Right Triangle Trigonometry Word Problem Examples

Example 1
If B = 42° and a = 12, find c.

From the triangle at the right, you know the


measure of an angle and the side
adjacent. You want to know the measure
of the hypotenuse. The cosine function
relates the side adjacent to the angle and
the hypotenuse.

a side adjacent
cos B = c cos = hypotenuse
12
cos 42° = c Substitute 42° for B and 12 for a.
c cos 42° = 12 Multiply each side by c.
12
c = cos 42° Divide each side by 42°.
c 16.14759276 Use a calculator.

Therefore, c is about 16.1.

Example 2
RECREATION A child holding on to the string
of a kite gets tired and decides to put the string
on the ground and secure it with a brick. The
length of the string from the brick to the kite
is 240 feet.

a. If the angle formed by the string and the ground


is 50.275°, how high is the kite?

b. What is the horizontal distance between the kite


and the brick?

a. You know the measures of an angle and the hypotenuse. To find the height of the kite, you need to
know the measure of the side opposite the given angle. In this case, use the sine function.

h side opposite
sin 50.275° = 240 sin = hypotenuse
240 sin 50.275° = h Multiply each side by 240.
184.588984 h Use a calculator.

The kite is about 184.6 feet high.


b. To find the horizontal distance between the kite and the brick, you need to know the length of the side
adjacent to the given angle. Use the cosine function.

d side adjacent
cos 50.275° = cos =
240 hypotenuse
240 cos 50.275° = d Multiply each side by 240.
153.3848329 d Use a calculator.

The horizontal distance between the kite and the brick is about 153.4 feet.

Example 3
GEOMETRY A regular hexagon is
inscribed in a circle with diameter
10.32 centimeters. Find the apothem
of the hexagon.

First, draw a diagram. If the diameter of


the circle is 10.32 centimeters, the radius
is 10.32 2 or 5.16 centimeters. The
measure of α is 360° 12 or 30°.

a side adjacent
cos 30° = cos =
5.16 hypotenuse
5.16 cos 30° = a Multiply each side by 5.16.
4.468691084 a Use a calculator.

The apothem is about 4.47 centimeters.


Example 4
In Washington, D.C., the Washington Monument is situated between the Capitol and the Lincoln
Memorial. A tourist standing at the Lincoln Memorial tilts her head at an angle of 7.491° in order
to look up to the top of the Washington Monument. At the same time, another tourist standing at
the Capitol steps tilts his head at a 5.463° to also look at the top of the Washington Monument.

a. About how high is the Washington Monument?

b. What is the distance between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington monument?

a. Draw a diagram to model the situation.


Let h represent the height of the
Washington Monument in feet. The
distance between the Capitol and the
Washington Monument is 1.1 miles,
which is 5808 feet. Write
an equation that relates the distance
between the Capitol and the
Washington monument and the height
of the monument.

h
tan 5.463° = 5808
5808 tan 5.463° = h
555.4616096 h Use a calculator.

The Washington Monument is about 555 feet tall.

b. Let d represent the distance between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Write an
equation that relates this distance and the height of the Washington Monument.

555
tan 7.491° = d
d tan 7.491° = 555
555
d = tan 7.491°
d 4220.76667

The distance between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington monument is about 4221 feet, which
4221
is about 5280 or 0.8 mile.

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