16Hit1600
Geometry and TrigonometryHardTangent of the smaller acute angle

Geometry and Trigonometry practice question

The legs of a right triangle are 6 and 8. What is the tangent of the smaller of the triangle's two acute angles?

Answer: 3/4 or 0.75

The smaller acute angle is opposite the shorter leg, 6, and adjacent to the longer leg, 8. tan = 6/8 = 3/4.

Common wrong answers

If you answered 4/3
4/3 is the tangent of the LARGER acute angle (8 over 6).
If you answered 3/5
3/5 is the sine of the smaller angle (6 over the hypotenuse 10).
If you answered 4/5
4/5 is the cosine of the smaller angle.

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