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The angles in a triangle are in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3 - OCR - GCSE Maths - Question 8 - 2017 - Paper 1

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The angles in a triangle are in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3. (a) Show that the triangle is a right-angled triangle. (b) The hypotenuse of the triangle is 15cm long. Calcul... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:The angles in a triangle are in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3 - OCR - GCSE Maths - Question 8 - 2017 - Paper 1

Step 1

Show that the triangle is a right-angled triangle.

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Answer

To show that the triangle is a right-angled triangle, we can start by expressing the angles of the triangle based on the given ratio of 1:2:3. Let the common multiplier be represented as xx. Thus, the angles can be expressed as:

  • First angle: 1x=x1x = x
  • Second angle: 2x=2x2x = 2x
  • Third angle: 3x=3x3x = 3x

Now, according to the triangle sum property, the sum of angles in a triangle is 180exto180^{ ext{o}}. Therefore:

x+2x+3x=180extox + 2x + 3x = 180^{ ext{o}}

This simplifies to:

6x=180exto6x = 180^{ ext{o}} x=30extox = 30^{ ext{o}}

Thus the angles of the triangle are:

  • First angle: 30exto30^{ ext{o}}
  • Second angle: 60exto60^{ ext{o}}
  • Third angle: 90exto90^{ ext{o}}

Since one angle is 90exto90^{ ext{o}}, we conclude that this triangle is indeed a right-angled triangle.

Step 2

Calculate the length of the shortest side in the triangle.

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Given that the hypotenuse of the triangle is 15 cm, we can utilize the properties of a right triangle to find the lengths of the other two sides, which are in the ratio of 1:√3:2 corresponding to the angles of 30exto30^{ ext{o}}, 60exto60^{ ext{o}}, and 90exto90^{ ext{o}} respectively.

Let the length of the shortest side (opposite the 30exto30^{ ext{o}} angle) be aa. Then:

  • Hypotenuse = 2a2a
  • Longer side = aoot3exta oot{3}{ ext{}}

From the problem, we know that:

2a=152a = 15

Solving for aa, we find:

a = rac{15}{2} = 7.5 ext{ cm}

Hence, the length of the shortest side of the triangle is 7.5extcm7.5 ext{ cm}.

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