Consider a right triangle where the measure of one of the acute angles is

a

°
.
If
s

i

n
(
a

°
)
=
x
,
then the cosine of which angle must also be equal to
x
?
Consider a right triangle where the measure of one of the acute angles is
a

°
.
If
s

i

nConsider a right triangle where the measure of one of the acute angles is
a

°
.
If
s

i

n
(
a
⁢Consider a right triangle where the measure of one of the acute angles is
a

°
.
If
s

i

n
(
a

°
)
=
x
,
then the cosine of which angle must also be equal to
x
?

1 answer

In a right triangle, the angles are such that one is \(90^\circ\) and the other two are acute angles whose measures add up to \(90^\circ\). If you have an acute angle \(a^\circ\) and you know that \(\sin(a^\circ) = x\), you can find the cosine of the complementary angle, which is \(90^\circ - a^\circ\).

According to the co-function identities in trigonometry, the sine of an angle is equal to the cosine of its complementary angle:

\[ \sin(a^\circ) = \cos(90^\circ - a^\circ) \]

Given that \(\sin(a^\circ) = x\), it follows that:

\[ \cos(90^\circ - a^\circ) = x \]

Thus, if \(\sin(a^\circ) = x\), then:

\[ \cos(90^\circ - a^\circ) = x \]

So the cosine of the angle \(90^\circ - a^\circ\) must also be equal to \(x\).