Answer:
m∠Q ≈ 53°
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the measure of ∠Q, the law of cosines will need to be used. Lowercase letters represent the side lengths, while upper case letters represent angles.
In this situation, 'A' will be ∠Q. Therefore:
17² = 18² + 20² -2(18)(20)cosQ
Simplify:
289 = 324 + 400 -2(360)cosQ
Continue simplifying down:
-435 = -720cosQ
Divide both sides by '-720':
0.604 = cosQ
m∠Q ≈ 52.83 or 53° rounded to the nearest whole degree.
The Pythagorean theorem:
The theorem that the square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
<h2>The Pythagorean Theorem</h2><h3>Discoverer: Pythagoras</h3>In mathematics, the Pythagorean theorem, or Pythagoras' theorem, is a fundamental relation in Euclidean geometry among the three sides of a right triangle. It states that the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares on the other two sides. These calculations were discovered just as a tool of the ancient civilization of Babylonians who used it to divide up farmland; this was roughly 1,000 years before the birth of the discoverer, Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher.
The formula comes like this: