It is given that two angles are complementary.
Let x be the larger angle.
It is given that The smaller angle is 42 degrees less than the larger angle
[tex]\text{The smaller angle=}x-42^o[/tex]We know that the sum of the complementary angles is 90 degrees.
[tex]\text{the larger angle+ the smaller angle =}90^o[/tex]Substitute the larger angle =x and the smaller angle =x-42, we get
[tex]x+x-42^o=90^o[/tex][tex]2x-42^o=90^o[/tex]Transferring 42 to the right-hand side, we get
[tex]2x=90^o+42^o[/tex][tex]2x=132^o[/tex][tex]x=\frac{132^o}{2}[/tex][tex]x=66^o[/tex][tex]T\text{he larger angle=x=}66^o[/tex][tex]\text{The smaller angle =}x-42^o=66^o-42^o=24^o[/tex]Hence the given two complementary angles are
[tex]66^o,24^o[/tex]