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How do I find the apothem of a decagon with the radius of 14???

How do I find the apothem of a decagon with the radius of 14???-example-1
User Pwagner
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1 Answer

3 votes

Answer:

A. 13.31' to the nearest hundredth.

B. 86.52' to the nearest hundredth.

Explanation:

Part A>

The apotherm of a regular polygon is the distance of the line segment from the centre of the polygon to the midpoint of a side.

2 radii of this decagon joined to the endpoints of a side form an isosceles triangle with equal sides = 14 cm.

The apotherm is the altitude of this triangle. The vertex of the triangle has an angle of 360 / 10 = 36 degrees and the apotherm bisects this angle.

So using trigonometry on the right triangle formed:

cos 18 = x / 14 where x is the apotherm.

x = 14 cos 18

= 13.31' (answer).

Part B.

Using trigonometry on the right triangle again:

sin 18 = x/2 / 14 (where x is the length of a side of the hexagon)

x/2 = 14 sin 18

x = 2 * 14 sin 18

= 8.652'.

As a decagon has 10 sides the perimeter = 8.652 * 10

= 86.52' to the nearest hundredth.

User Anthony Bobenrieth
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5.4k points