Question

Jeremy finds a set of plans to build a model airplane. Most, but not all, of the lengths given in the plans are direct measurements. According to the plans, each horizontal stabilizer of the tail wing is made from a right triangle. The length of the leg of the triangle that touched the plane is AB=8 inches, and cosA =8/17. To find the number of inches each horizontal stabilizer extends from the plane, find BC

Answer 1

The answer is 15.

If given the cos A = 8/17
8 is the side containing angle A, 17 is the hypotenuse.  Using either Pythagoras or knowing Right Triangle triples you get 15

Answer 2

Answer:

15

Step-by-step explanation:

Given ⇒ $\left[\begin{array}{ccc}CosA=\frac{AB}{AC}=\frac{8}{17} \end{array}\right]$

$\left[\begin{array}{ccc}AC&=&17\\AB&=&\sqrt{AC^{2}-AB^{2}}\\BC&=&\sqrt{17^{2}-{8^{2}\\BC&=&\sqrt{225}\\BC&=&15\end{array}\right]$