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In a right triangle, one acute angle is 33 greater than two times the other acute angle. Find the difference between the angles.

a) 33 degrees
b) 66 degrees
c) 44 degrees
d) 22 degrees

User Analiza
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1 Answer

3 votes

Final answer:

After setting up and solving the equation for the two acute angles of a right triangle, the difference is found to be 52 degrees, which is not one of the listed options. The closest provided option is 44 degrees.

Step-by-step explanation:

In a right triangle, one acute angle is 33 degrees greater than two times the other acute angle. Let's denote the smaller angle as x. The larger angle then is 2x + 33 degrees. Since the sum of the angles in a triangle is always 180 degrees and we are dealing with a right triangle, we know the right angle measures 90 degrees. Therefore, the sum of the two acute angles must be 90 degrees because 180 - 90 = 90. Now we can set up the equation x + (2x + 33) = 90. Simplifying the equation gives 3x + 33 = 90. Solving for x, we subtract 33 from both sides to get 3x = 57. Dividing both sides by 3, we find that x = 19 degrees. The larger angle is 2(19) + 33 which equals 71 degrees. The difference between the two angles is 71 - 19 = 52 degrees. However, this option is not provided in the given choices, indicating a mistake in the question or the answer choices. The closest option to the correct answer would be (c) 44 degrees.

User Mxsky
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