We are given a right-angle triangle with side lengths 8, 15, and 17.
Since it is a right triangle, one angle must be 90°
Let us find the other two angles of this right triangle.
With respect to angle x, the opposite side is 15 and the hypotenuse side is 17.
Recall from the trigonometric ratios,
[tex]\begin{gathered} \sin (x)=\frac{\text{opposite}}{\text{hypotenuse}} \\ \sin (x)=\frac{15}{17} \\ x=\sin ^{-1}(\frac{15}{17}) \\ x=61.9\degree \end{gathered}[/tex]So, the second angle is 61.9°
Recall that the sum of angles inside a triangle must be equal to 180°
So, the third angle can be found as
[tex]\begin{gathered} y+61.9\degree+90\degree=180\degree \\ y=180\degree-90\degree-61.9\degree \\ y=28.1\degree \end{gathered}[/tex]So, the third angle is 28.1°
The measure of the smaller acute angle is 28.1 degrees and the larger acute angle measures 61.9 degrees.
