Question

What would the world be like without right triangles? How are they used to calculate every item (what measurements are used? Give an example of how you would calculate an item or side of a right triangle.

Answer 1

The concept of right triangles is applied in different areas in real life. The areas include survey, carpentry, calculations involving ladder heights, etc. The are used by applying the pythagorean theorem which is expressed as

hypotenuse^2 = opposite side^2 + adjacent side^2

where hypotenuse is the longest side of the triangle and the opposite and adjacent sides are the legs of the triangle.

An example is the position of a ladder leaning on a wall. The angle that the ladder would make with the ground, the required length of the ladder and the distance from the wall can be calculated.

If we want to calculate the length of a ladder required to reach a certain height on a buliding, the length of the reuired ladder would be the hypotenuse of the right triangle formed. the height to be accessed would be the opposite side of the triangle. The distance between the foot of the ladder and the building would be the adjacent side of the triangle.