In the right triangle the ratio of the measures of the two acute angles is 4 1 what is the measure in degrees of the larger acute angle?

The 4 to 1 ratio of the two acute angles can be restated as the larger acute angle is four times as large as the smaller acute angle. Since the sum of all angles in a triangle equal 180 degrees, the sum of the two acute angles will be equal to 90 degrees. The remaining 90 degrees are found in the right angle present in all right triangles. If we divide the 90 degrees of the acute angles by 5 (to get the five parts of our ratio) and ascribe 4 of those parts to the largest acute angle we can find the size of that angle by multiplying (90 / 5) x 4 = (18) x 4 = 72. Therefore the largest acute angle is 72 degrees and the smaller acute angle is 18 degrees for a total of 90 degrees.

Answer: 72 degrees