Find the values of a and b (special right triangles)

a = 14

b= 6√2

Step-by-step explanation:

Here we can divide this shape into a rectangle and a triangle as shown in the attachment

Since the rectangle has a height of 6, our line we drew dividing the two shapes must mean that the height of our triangle is also 6We will need to figure out the missing sides of the triangle first before solving for a

b:

We cannot yet use the Pythagorean Theorem because we only have one leg of the triangle. However, we can use trig identities to solve for one of the missing legs since we were given an angle.We will want to use and identity that involves the "opposite" leg and the "hypotenuse"; this identity is sin: Solving for the hypotenuse, b, our equation becomes Then plugging in our known values we have b = 6√2 Now that we have solve for two legs, we can use the Pythagorean theorem to solve for the missing leg in which I labelled as "x" a² + b² = c² are the variables used in the formula, however I will change them to x² + y² = z² to avoid any confusion since there are already "a" and "b" variables used in this problemSo here solving for x, we have Then plugging in our values we get

a:

Now that we have solved for all the missing legs of the triangle, we can now solve for aLooking at the figure, a is 8 plus the bottom leg of the triangleSo a = 8 + x → a = 8 + 6 → a = 14