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jmc

geometry intermediate

Problem

Two angles of a triangle measure 30 and 45 degrees. If the side of the triangle opposite the 30-degree angle measures units, what is the sum of the lengths of the two remaining sides? Express your answer as a decimal to the nearest tenth.
Solution
Let , , and be the vertices of the triangle so that angle measures 45 degrees and angle measures 30 degrees. Define to be the foot of the perpendicular from to side . Because angle measures 45 degrees and angle is a right angle, triangle is a 45-45-90 triangle. Since the length of a leg of a 45-45-90 triangle is times the length of the hypotenuse, units. Also, is a 30-60-90 triangle, so we can multiply the short leg by 2 to find the length of the hypotenuse and by to find the length of the longer leg. This gives units and units. The sum of the lengths of sides and is . To the nearest tenth of a unit, this is units.
Final answer
28.4