The top of a 2.7m ladder, leaning against a wall, reaches a height of 1.6m. What angle, to the nearest degree, does the ladder make with the ?
So the hypotenuse is 2.7, and the opposite is 1.6.
We can use sine to find the angle.
sin(x) = (1.6)/(2.7)
Simplify:
sin(x) = 0.592592593
Plug this in your calculator to find the inverse of sine:
x = 36.34120312
So the angle is 36 degrees.
(see the figure I uploaded)
\(\sin(\beta)=1.6/2.7\Rightarrow \beta=\arcsin(1.6/2.7)\approx36.34^\circ\)