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Thread ID: 65502 2006-01-20 06:24:00 length of side ofa triange wotz (335) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
422828 2006-01-20 20:01:00 I can't see how the question was so awkward. "how long is the bottom side

At right angle from bottom, another side goes out until a 70 degree angle will make the 3rd side meet the top of the 1stThat's an impossibility. If the side at the "bottom" goes out at 70 degrees, it'll never reach the top of the "first" ie the vertical side.

So the assumption could be made that the "bottom" was going to be horizontal, ie parallel to the ground, and then a 70 angle from the horizontal side would join it and the vertical side.

Asking a trigonometry question also helps to use trigonometric terminology.

I got an A+ (99%) in my trig paper in my first year of uni, so I kinda feel qualified to criticise.
Greg (193)
422829 2006-01-20 23:42:00 If I knew the terminology I wouldn't have had to ask the question. wotz (335)
422830 2006-01-20 23:57:00 It dioesn't matter which angle you work from. You will get the other non-hypotenuse side of a triangle, which can be cut out of cardboard (because you can easily make a right angle) and used to find the angles. The two trianges will be different sizes, but the angles will be the same.

One nasty trap for Google enthusiasts: Google (correctly) asuumes that angles are given in radians not degrees. :cool: So ask for tan(20 degrees), not "tan(20)" or "tan 20" or even "tan 20 degrees" (I'm not sure what that last one gives -- perhaps the tan of 20 used as the input to a radians-degrees conversion :( ).
Graham L (2)
422831 2006-01-21 01:02:00 If I knew the terminology I wouldn't have had to ask the question.Fair call. Greg (193)
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