Question

Marcus made a sail for his toy boat. If the sail is 5 inches long and the top angle of the sail is 40°, what is the width of the bottom of the sail (w) to the nearest tenths place?

Answer 1

4.2

Explanation:

Answer 2

4.2 in

Explanation:

let us first visualize the sail as a triangular shape

the angle of the triangle from top is 40°

the height of the triangle is give as 5 in

we can apply SOH CAH TOA to solve for the base of the sail

the opposite = the base of the sail

the adjacent = the height of the sail= 5 in

therefore

Tan∅= Opp/Adj

Tan(40)= Opp/5

Opp= Tan(40)*5

Opp= 0.8390*5

Opp= 4.195 in

Hence the width of the sail is 4.2 in to the nearest tenths