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Can someone help me figure this question out​

Can someone help me figure this question out​-example-1
User GinTonic
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1 Answer

3 votes

Answer:

∠POQ ≈ 26.6°

Explanation:

You want the angle POQ between the lines PO and QO shown in the diagram.

Slope

The slope of a line is equal to the ratio of "rise" to "run". That slope is also the tangent of the angle the line makes with the x-axis.

Line PO has slope 1/1 = 1. The angle it makes with the x-axis is ...

∠PO = arctan(1) = 45°

Line QO has slope 1/3. The angle it makes with the x-axis is ...

∠QO = arctan(1/3) ≈ 18.435°

Angle POQ is the difference between these angles:

∠POQ = 45° -18.435° = 26.565°

∠POQ ≈ 26.6°

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Alternate solution

Another way to find the angle is to use the Law of Cosines.

The side lengths of the triangle POQ can be found using the Pythagorean theorem:

PO = 4√2

QO = 2√(1² +3²) = 2√10

PQ = 2√2

Angle O is given by ...

PQ² = PO² +QO² -2·PO·QO·cos(O) . . . . . . law of cosines

cos(O) = (PO² +QO² -PQ²)/(2·PO·QO)

cos(O) = (32 +40 -8)/(2·4√2·2√10) = 64/(16√20) = 2/√5

O = arccos(2/√5) ≈ 26.565°

User Karoma
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4.5k points