Question

Explain PLEASE:

The legs of a right triangle are lengths x and x√3. The cosine of the smallest angle of the triangle is _____.

a. 1/2
b. √3
c. √3/2
d. 2√3

Answer 1

`(√(3))/(2)`

Explanation:

The quickest way to solve this is to recognize this as a 30-60-90 triangle. The smallest angle is 30 degrees, and the answer is simply cos 30º.

You can also use the pythagorean theorem to find the length of the hypotenuse, then use SOH-CAH-TOA to get the answer.