Complementary angles signify that the two angles will add up to 90 degrees If the sum of your complementary angles exceeds the difference by 72, the equation will look like [tex]x+y=x-y+72[/tex], where x and y are the two different angles. You can cancel the x's out because they are on both sides, and you are left with the single variable equation, [text]y=-y+72[/tex], and when you solve for y, you find that y is 36 degrees, which means that x is 54 degrees. Since you want the smaller angle, 36 degrees would be correct.
