Question

Missouri has a shape that is similar to a trapezoid with bases of about 198 miles and 276 miles and a height of about 270 miles. What is the area of Missouri in square miles? Explain how you found the answer.

Answer 1

63,990 mi²

Explanation:

We can find the answer by using the formula for the area of a trapezoid and putting in the given numbers.

A = (1/2)(b1 +b2)h . . . . where b1, b2 are the base lengths; h is the height

A = (1/2)(198 mi +276 mi)(270 mi)

A = 63,990 mi²

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Comment on the area of Missouri

This estimate is about 8.2% low.