Finding Missing Angles in Triangles
Ever wondered how mathematicians work out mystery angles? It's actually dead simple once you know the golden rule: angles in a triangle always add up to 180°.
In this example, we've got two known angles (52° and 59°) and need to find the third angle 'a'. First, we add the known angles together: 52° + 59° = 111°. Then we subtract this total from 180° to find our missing angle.
The calculation looks like this: a = 180° - = 180° - 111° = 69°. Notice how we use brackets to make sure we add the known angles first before subtracting from 180°.
Quick Check: Always verify your answer by adding all three angles together - they should equal exactly 180°! In this case: 52° + 59° + 69° = 180° ✓