Grade 10 Academic (MPM2D) · Trigonometry

Primary trig ratios — find a missing side

Use SOH-CAH-TOA to find a missing side of a right triangle given one angle and one side, in a real context. Unlimited questions, five difficulty levels, and a full worked solution every time — free.

Practice this skill Curriculum: MPM2D-TR2.1

Try one

A kite string is pulled taut, making a 70deg angle with the ground. The horizontal distance from the flyer to a point under the kite is 9 m. Find the length of the kite string, to one decimal place.

cos(angle) = adjacent / hypotenuse

Answer: 26.3

See one solved, step by step

A zip-line cable runs from a platform down to the ground, meeting the ground at a 20deg angle. The length of the zip-line cable is 10 m. Find the horizontal distance the zip-line covers, to one decimal place.

cos(angle) = adjacent / hypotenuse
📘 Worked solution
1cos(20deg) = x/10CAH: cosine is adjacent over hypotenuse.
2x = 10 · cos(20deg) = 10 · 0.9397 = 9.3969Multiply both sides by 10 to isolate x.
3The horizontal distance the zip-line covers is about 9.4 m.Round to one decimal place.

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