Start by identifying the hypotenuse of the right triangle. Then find the sides that are opposite and adjacent to ∠C.
12/16=0.75
Practice makes perfect
For the given right triangle, we want to write the ratio for the tangent of ∠C. Let's start by identifying the hypotenuse of the triangle and the sides that are opposite and adjacent to ∠C.
We see that the length of the hypotenuse is 20. The length of the side adjacent to ∠C is 16 and the length of the side opposite to ∠C is 12. With this information, we can find the desired ratio. Recall how we calculate the tangent ratio.
tan C = Length of leg opposite to∠C/Length of leg adjacent to∠C
Now, we can substitute our values to the above formula to find tanC.
Finally, let's express the obtained fraction as a decimal. In order to do that, we will use a calculator to divide the numerator of our fraction by its denominator.
