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45 votes
45 votes
9. Find the values of x and y.
Write answers in simplest radical form.
x=______ y=_____

9. Find the values of x and y. Write answers in simplest radical form. x=______ y-example-1
User Gerardo BLANCO
by
2.4k points

1 Answer

16 votes
16 votes

Answer:

x = 3√3

y = 6

Explanation:

The geometric mean relations between segments intersecting the long hypotenuse and its parts can be used to find the values of interest.

Altitude

x = √(9·3) = 3√3

Short side

y = √((9+3)·3) = 6

__

Additional comment

These right triangles are all similar, so corresponding sides are proportional. When the proportions are solved for a missing side, a geometric mean relation results. (The geometric mean of 'a' and 'b' is √(ab).)

Identify the segments above the horizontal line as w, x, y. (x and y are already identified in this figure.)

The ratio of short side to long side is ...

x/9 = 3/x ⇒ x² = 9·3 ⇒ x = √(9·3)

The ratio of short side to hypotenuse is ...

y/(9+3) = 3/y ⇒ y² = (9+3)·3 ⇒ y = √((9+3)·3)

Likewise, the ratio of long side to hypotenuse is ...

w/(9+3) = 9/w ⇒ w² = (9+3)·9 w = √((9+3)·9) = 6√3

User Coiso
by
3.1k points
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