Question

PLEASE HELP DUE SOON! IM SO CONFUSED!!!

Answer 1

The first step that we need to take before attempting to solve a problem is to understand what the problem is asking us to do and what is given to us to help accomplish that goal.  Looking at the problem statement they are asking for us to determine the value of the unknown variable h.  We are given one angle along with two sides.

Now that we have completed that step, we can move onto understanding what needs to be done to solve for the unknown.  We know that the best option is to use some trigonometry to help us determine the other side. Using Soh | Cah | Toa we are able to determine that we have the opposite side (h) and the hypotenuse (15.6 cm).

Trigonometric functions

• $sin(\theta) = \frac{opposite}{hypotenuse}$

• $cos(\theta) = \frac{adjacent}{hypotenuse}$

• $tan(\theta) = \frac{opposite}{adjacent}$

Plug in the values

• $sin(\theta) = \frac{opposite}{hypotenuse}$

• $sin(36) = \frac{h}{15.6\ cm}$

We know have an expression which contains everything that we need to determine the value of the unknown.  To help isolate h we need to multiply both sides by 15.6 cm which will isolate h.  After that we need to simplify the expression so we can get the value of h.

Multiply both sides by 15.6 cm

• $sin(36) * 15.6\ cm = \frac{h}{15.6\ cm} * 15.6\ cm$

• $sin(36) * 15.6\ cm = h$

Simplify the expression

• $0.5878 * 15.6\ cm = h$

• $9.169 = h$

After simplifying the expression, we are able to eliminate options A and C because they state that h is equal to 8.4 cm.  We also know that with the given dimensions we would be able to create two triangles. Therefore, the option that best incapsulates the correct answer would be option B - 9.2, two possible triangles.