Question

Two angles are complementary. If the measure of one angle is 20

more than the measure of the second angle, what is the number of
degrees in the measure of the smaller angle?

Answer 1

the smaller angle is 35 degrees.

Explanation:

complementary angles are 90 degrees, so you would set your entire equation to 90.

we can use the variable x to represent the unknown smaller angle. we know that the larger angle is 20 more degrees than the unknown smaller angle (x). we can set up the equation like this:

x + x + 20 = 90

the first x represents the smaller angle and the x + 20 represents the other angle, which is 20 more than the smaller angle. we set it to 90 because we know that the entire angle will be 90 degrees

move variables and constants to opposite sides of the equal sign and combine like terms:

x + x = 90 - 20

2x = 70

divide both sides by 2 to isolate 90:

x = 35

you can plug x back into the equation to check your answer if you want

hope this helps!! :)