# Can someone help me figure out an angle? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 3, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829 "2009-07-03T17:22:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/1 "2009-07-03T17:22:52Z")
So, as per a post in another thread, Mr. K is at his wit’s end with regard to an angle issue on his little shed project. Here’s the deal: 1. He wants to put a diagonal brace between the two corners of the wall of the shed. 2. Corner to corner is 96.25 inches. 3. The corners are both 45 degree angles. 4. The brace in question is a 2 x 4 When we cut 45 degree angles on either side of the 2 x 4, it doesn’t fit. It’s waaaay too long. We quadruple-checked the length. What in the FUCK are we doing wrong? ---
**Author:** ![QuercusMax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/8baadc/32.png) [@QuercusMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuercusMax)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/2 "2009-07-03T17:29:16Z")
Could your tape measure be drooping when measuring corner-to-corner? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/3 "2009-07-03T17:53:52Z")
That **Kalhoun**. Always looking for an angle. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/4 "2009-07-03T17:57:09Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > That **Kalhoun**. Always looking for an angle. 🙂 Okay, this is so embarrassing…I guess the wall isn’t a square so he’s re-calculating. I’m not too good at this stuff (gee…d’ya THINK?). ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/5 "2009-07-03T18:29:51Z")
If you supply the lengths of the three sides of the triangle it is trivial to calculate the angles. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/6 "2009-07-03T18:41:02Z")
40w x 52.25h x 66.25 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/7 "2009-07-03T19:05:42Z")
Dudes and dudettes, I found an angle calculator. We’re runnin’ with it. Thanks all who attempted to turn the light bulb on above my head on this one. Signed, The Barbie Doll who says “MATH IS HARD!!” ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/8 "2009-07-03T19:10:24Z")
Remember when you complained to your high school trigonometry teacher, “But why should we have to remember this? When will we ever use it?” Who’s laughing now? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/9 "2009-07-03T19:29:19Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > What in the FUCK are we doing wrong? The right angle is pretty much correct but you are not taking equal distances on both sides of it. If you take equal distances to both sides then yes but isn’t it obvious that when one side gets longer the adjacent angle diminishes and viceversa? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/10 "2009-07-03T20:44:25Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Remember when you complained to your high school trigonometry teacher, “But why should we have to remember this? When will we ever use it?” > > Who’s laughing now? :smack: High school trig? ME?? Whaddahya, HIGH? Those teachers laughed at me in the lounge when I failed algebra. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/11 "2009-07-03T20:46:07Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > The right angle is pretty much correct but you are not taking equal distances on both sides of it. If you take equal distances to both sides then yes but isn’t it obvious that when one side gets longer the adjacent angle diminishes and viceversa? None of this is obvious to me. I’m sorry, but you are talking to someone who is not only math impaired, but working with someone who is in worse shape than me, but fancies himself a semi-math dude. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/12 "2009-07-03T20:59:42Z")
Something went awry and the angle fight is in full swing. Just so’s you know. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/13 "2009-07-04T00:24:50Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > 40w x 52.25h x 66.25 Using those numbers, you have a triangle with angles approximately 90 degrees, 53 degrees, and 37 degrees. Those are approximate, as a perfect right triangle with a width of 40 and height of 52.25 units should have a hypotenuse of 65.8. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-figure-out-an-angle/501829/14 "2009-07-04T01:56:24Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Something went awry and the angle fight is in full swing. Just so’s you know. Just put in one or two new vertical 2 by 4’s so that the area you are trying to “triangulate” is now actually a perfect square. Then the diagonal member becomes easy to cut and measure.