How to use sine,cosine,tangent to determine side X in the triangle below Step 1) Based on your givens and unknowns, determine which sohcahtoa ratio to use Since we know the 67 angle, its adjacent side length and we want to know length of the opposite side, we should use tangent Step 2) Set up an equation based on the ratio you chose in the step 1 $ tan(67) = \frac{opposite}{adjacent} $ $ tan(67) = \frac{x}{14} $ (Let's Step 3) Cross multiply and solve the equation for the side length.

A very popular topic in algebra is solving right triangle problems using the Pythagorean Theorem. The theorem is a simple formula which shows the relationship between the sides of any right triangle. It requires a basic knowledge of squaring and "square rooting." The topic is also made easier if one is familiar with what are known as...