Question

Which trigonometric function would you use to find side z, only using the m

Answer 1

The trigonometric function we can use is tan;

`\begin{gathered} \tan \theta=(opposite)/(adjacent) \\ \tan \theta=(y)/(z) \\ z=(y)/(\tan \theta) \end{gathered}`

Step-by-step explanation:

Given the figure of the right angled triangle in the attached image.

We want to determine the trigonometry function that can be used to calculate the measure of z, given the angle R and side y.

Recall that trigonometric functions can be expressed below;

`\begin{gathered} \sin \theta=(opposite)/(hypotenuse) \\ \cos \theta=(adjacent)/(hypotenuse) \\ \tan \theta=\frac{opposite}{\text{adjacent}} \end{gathered}`

For the triangle, let theta represent R;

`\begin{gathered} x=\text{hypotenuse} \\ y=\text{opposite} \\ z=\text{adjacent} \end{gathered}`

since we were given the angle R and the side y, which is the opposite side and we want to calculate the measure of side z which is the adjacent side, then we need to apply a trigonometric function that has both opposite and adjacent.

Therefore, the trigonometric function we can use is tan;

`\begin{gathered} \tan \theta=(opposite)/(adjacent) \\ \tan \theta=(y)/(z) \end{gathered}`