Question

Use the diagram of the right triangle above and round your answer to the nearest hundredth.

If b is 23 ft and tan A is 1.0, what is a?

Answer 1

Answer: a = 23 ft.

Reasoning:

The question asks for the value of the leg a, given the tangent of the opposite angle and the length of the adjacent-leg, b.

The ratio that relates the three parameters is:

tan(A) = opposite-leg / adjacent-leg = a / b = a / 23 ft

Solve for a, wich is the unknown:

a = 23ft * tan(A) = 23ft * 1.0 = 23 ft

Answer: 23 ft.