Question

Find the length of the shortest leg of a right triangle which has an hypotenuse of length 20 ft, and one angle of 79 degrees.

Answer 1

Let the triangle is ABC with right angle at B. Let also that the given angle is A=79 degrees. The hypotenuse AC is given as 20 ft. Then we know CosA=AB/AC, so it gives the length of the side AB as AC CosA=20 Cos79=3.82. The other side BC is given as AC SinA=20 Sin79=19.63. Hence the length of the shortest leg is 3.82 ft.