In triangle ABC, angle A = 90 degrees, AC = 16, and tangent of angle A = 0.5. Find BC.

Consider a triangle ABC, where C is a right angle (there is a typo in the task, angle A cannot be right, since the tangent of a right angle = 0).
Hence,
AB – hypotenuse,
CB – leg opposite to angle A,
AC – leg adjacent to corner A.
Because tangent is the ratio of the opposite leg to the adjacent leg and is equal to 5/10.
Let’s make the proportion:
5/10 = BC / 16
10 * BC = 5 * 16
10 * BC = 80
BC = 8.