Question

In triangle ABC, side ‘a’ is twice as long as side ‘b’. If the hypotenuse is 30m long, solve the triangle. This question is in my Trigonometric of Right Triangles section of my book.

Answer 1

If side b has length b then a=2b and a²=4b². If a and b are the legs of the triangle, then we can use Pythagoras’ Theorem: 4b²+b²=30²=900. 5b²=900, b²=180 and b=√180=6√5=13.42 approx, so a=26.83 approx.

Answer 2

X square + 2X squared = 30m squared 3x^2= 30m^2 3x^2/3 = 30m^2/3 X^2 = 10m^2 √X^2 = √100 X = 10 Side A = 20 Side B = 10