The measure of an angle is eight times the measure of its complementary angle. What is the measure of each angle?

1 answer

Let the measure of the angle be \( x \) degrees. The measure of its complementary angle, which together with \( x \) adds up to 90 degrees, can be expressed as \( 90 - x \) degrees.

According to the problem, the measure of the angle is eight times the measure of its complementary angle. This can be set up as the following equation:

\[ x = 8(90 - x) \]

Now, we can solve the equation for \( x \):

  1. Distribute the 8 on the right side: \[ x = 720 - 8x \]

  2. Add \( 8x \) to both sides: \[ x + 8x = 720 \] \[ 9x = 720 \]

  3. Divide both sides by 9: \[ x = \frac{720}{9} = 80 \]

Now that we have the measure of the angle \( x \), we can find its complementary angle by substituting \( x \) back:

\[ 90 - x = 90 - 80 = 10 \]

Thus, the measures of the angles are:

  • The angle: \( 80 \) degrees
  • The complementary angle: \( 10 \) degrees

In conclusion, the measures of the angles are \( 80 \) degrees and \( 10 \) degrees.