The hypotenuse is the longest side in a right triangle, which is different from the long leg. The long leg is the leg opposite the 60-degree angle. Two of the most common right triangles are 30-60-90 and the 45-45-90-degree triangles. All 30-60-90 triangles have sides with the same basic ratio. If you look at the 30–60–90-degree triangle in radians, it translates to the following: The figure illustrates the ratio of the sides for the 30-60-90-degree triangle. A 30-60-90-degree right triangleIf you know one side of a 30-60-90 triangle, you can find the other two by using shortcuts. Here are the three situations you come across when doing these calculations:
Because you have the hypotenuse TR = 14, you can divide by 2 to get the short side: RI = 7. Now you multiply this length by the square root of 3 to get the long side: About This ArticleThis article is from the book:
About the book author:Mary Jane Sterling aught algebra, business calculus, geometry, and finite mathematics at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois for more than 30 years. She is the author of several For Dummies books, including Algebra Workbook For Dummies, Algebra II For Dummies, and Algebra II Workbook For Dummies. |