110k views
3 votes
The angles in a triangle are in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3.

a) Show that the triangle is a right-angled triangle.

b) The hypotenuse of the triangle is 19 cm long.

Calculate the length of the shortest side in the triangle.

User Amigolargo
by
6.7k points

1 Answer

0 votes

Answer:

a) the largest angle is 90°, making it a right triangle

b) the shortest side is 9.5 cm long

Explanation:

You want the largest angle and the shortest side in a triangle whose angles are in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3.

Angles

Let x represent the smallest angle. Then the other two angles are 2x and 3x. Their sum is ...

x +2x +3x = 180°

x = 30° . . . . . divide by 6

3x = 90° . . . . find the largest angle

The largest angle is 90°, a right angle. So, the triangle is a right-angled triangle.

Sides

A triangle with angles of 30°, 60°, and 90° is a "special" right triangle. Its sides are in the ratio 1 : √3 : 2. That is, the shortest side is 1/2 the length of the longest side.

shortest side = 1/2(19 cm) = 9.5 cm

The length of the shortest side in the triangle is 9.5 cm.

__

Additional comment

In case you're not familiar with the side length ratios of the 30-60-90 special triangle, you can figure the side length from the Law of Sines. That tells you ...

a/sin(A) = b/sin(B) = c/sin(C)

where A, B, C are the angles; and a, b, c are their opposite sides.

The shortest side is opposite the smallest angle, so we have ...

a/sin(30°) = (19 cm)/sin(90°)

a = sin(30°)×(19 cm) = 1/2(19 cm) = 9.5 cm

The length of the shortest side is 9.5 cm.

User Richie Li
by
6.6k points
Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.