Start by identifying the hypotenuse of the right triangle. Then find the sides that are opposite and adjacent to ∠A.
16/12≈ 1.33
Practice makes perfect
For the given right triangle, we want to write the ratio for the tangent of ∠A. Let's start by identifying the hypotenuse of the triangle and the sides that are opposite and adjacent to ∠A.
We see that the length of the hypotenuse is 20. The length of the side adjacent to ∠A is 12 and the length of the side opposite to ∠A is 16. With this information, we can find the desired ratio. Recall how we calculate the tangent ratio.
tan A = Length of leg opposite to∠A/Length of leg adjacent to∠A
Now, we can substitute our values to the above formula to find tanA.
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.
