Question

(Word Problem) Laz had a hard time with his problem on homework. Help him figure out what went wrong in his process. What was his mistake and whats the correct solution.

Answer 1

The triangle given

The value of x and y can be obtained using trigonometric ratio

To get the correct solution:

To get x

$\sin 60=\frac{3}{x}$$x=\frac{3}{\sin 60}=\frac{3}{\frac{\sqrt[]{3}}{2}}=\frac{6}{\sqrt[]{3}}=2\sqrt[]{3}$

To get y

$\begin{gathered} \tan 60=\frac{3}{y} \\ y=\frac{3}{\tan 60} \\ y=\frac{3}{\sqrt[]{3}} \\ y=\sqrt[]{3} \end{gathered}$

The next step is to compare the values of x and y Laz obtained with the correct answer.

Mistake: We can see that Laz did not use the correct trigonometric ratio to solve for x and y.