The measure of an angle is three 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 adds up with \( x \) to 90 degrees, will be \( 90 - x \) degrees.

According to the problem, the measure of the angle \( x \) is three times the measure of its complementary angle:

\[ x = 3(90 - x) \]

Now, let's solve the equation:

\[ x = 270 - 3x \]

Next, we will add \( 3x \) to both sides:

\[ x + 3x = 270 \]

This simplifies to:

\[ 4x = 270 \]

Now, divide both sides by 4:

\[ x = \frac{270}{4} = 67.5 \]

Now we can find the measure of the complementary angle:

\[ 90 - x = 90 - 67.5 = 22.5 \]

Thus, the measures of the angles are:

  • The angle is \( 67.5^\circ \)
  • The complementary angle is \( 22.5^\circ \)

In summary, the measures of the angles are \( 67.5^\circ \) and \( 22.5^\circ \).