97.0k views
2 votes
A triangle has side lengths of 25in, 30in, and 50 in. Classify it as acute, obtuse, or right. Please help me.

1 Answer

5 votes

9514 1404 393

Answer:

obtuse

Explanation:

Using the idea of a "form factor", we find ...

f = a² + b² - c²

f = 25² +30² -50² = 625 +900 -2500 = -975

The form factor is negative, so the triangle is obtuse.

_____

Additional comment

The form factor, as defined above, classifies the triangle according to its sign:

f > 0 . . . acute

f = 0 . . . right

f < 0 . . . obtuse

The largest angle in the triangle can be found from ...

cos(C) = f/(2ab)

Here, it is C = arccos(-975/1500) ≈ 130.5416°

A triangle has side lengths of 25in, 30in, and 50 in. Classify it as acute, obtuse-example-1
User Vineet Choudhary
by
4.5k points