Math  /  Geometry

QuestionTwo sides of a sloped ceiling meet at an angle of 115.6115.6^{\circ}. If the distances along the sides to the opposite walls are 11.5 ft and 14.7 ft , what length of bearn is needed to join the walls?
A \square ft beam is needed to join the walls. (Round to the nearest tenth as needed.)

Studdy Solution

STEP 1

What is this asking? We need to find the length of a beam needed to span between two walls that meet at an angle, given the distances along the sloped ceiling to each wall. Watch out! Don't forget to convert the angle to radians if your cosine function requires it, and remember we're dealing with a triangle that isn't a right triangle!

STEP 2

1. Visualize and Define
2. Apply Law of Cosines
3. Calculate and Round

STEP 3

Alright, let's **imagine** this!
We've got two walls and a sloped ceiling forming a triangle.
The lengths along the ceiling to the walls are like two sides of our triangle, and the beam we need is the third side, connecting the walls.

STEP 4

Let's **define** cc as the length of the beam we're looking for.
We'll call the given lengths along the ceiling a=11.5a = 11.5 ft and b=14.7b = 14.7 ft.
The angle between the ceiling sides, which we'll call γ\gamma, is **115.6** degrees.

STEP 5

The **Law of Cosines** is perfect for this!
It relates the sides and angles of any triangle, not just right triangles.
It states: c2=a2+b22abcos(γ)c^2 = a^2 + b^2 - 2 \cdot a \cdot b \cdot \cos(\gamma) This tells us that the square of the side opposite an angle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides minus twice their product times the cosine of the angle.

STEP 6

We need cc, the length of the beam, so let's **plug in** our values: c2=(11.5)2+(14.7)22(11.5)(14.7)cos(115.6)c^2 = (11.5)^2 + (14.7)^2 - 2 \cdot (11.5) \cdot (14.7) \cdot \cos(115.6^\circ)

STEP 7

Time to **crunch the numbers**!
First, let's square aa and bb: (11.5)2=132.25(11.5)^2 = 132.25 (14.7)2=216.09(14.7)^2 = 216.09So, c2=132.25+216.092(11.5)(14.7)cos(115.6)c^2 = 132.25 + 216.09 - 2 \cdot (11.5) \cdot (14.7) \cdot \cos(115.6^\circ)

STEP 8

Now, let's **calculate** that cosine value: cos(115.6)0.4226\cos(115.6^\circ) \approx -0.4226 So, c2=132.25+216.092(11.5)(14.7)(0.4226)c^2 = 132.25 + 216.09 - 2 \cdot (11.5) \cdot (14.7) \cdot (-0.4226)

STEP 9

Let's **multiply** and **add** everything together: c2=132.25+216.09+141.20c^2 = 132.25 + 216.09 + 141.20 c2489.54c^2 \approx 489.54

STEP 10

Finally, take the **square root** to find cc: c=489.5422.1c = \sqrt{489.54} \approx 22.1 Remember to round to the nearest tenth!

STEP 11

A **22.1** ft beam is needed to join the walls.

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