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Calculate the area of a rhombus with vertices A(0,-5), B(9,2), C(12,13), and D(2,7) to the nearest tenth of a unit.

User Tessafyi
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1 Answer

10 votes
10 votes

Answer:

93 square units (the figure is not a rhombus)

Explanation:

You want the area of the figure whose vertex coordinates are A(0,-5), B(9,2), C(12,13), and D(2,7).

Area from coordinates

The formula for the area of a polygon based on its coordinates might be written ...


\displaystyle A=(1)/(2)\left|\sum_(k=1)^n{x_k(y_(k+1)-y_(k-1))}\right|

where coordinate indices wrap around from the end to the beginning.

Using this formula, we find the area to be ...

A = 1/2|0(2-7) +9(13-(-5)) +12(7-2) +2(-5-13)|

A = (1/2)|0 +162 +60 -36| = 1/2(186) = 93

The area of the figure is 93 square units.

Diagonals

The area of a rhombus could be calculated as half the product of the lengths of the diagonals. This is only true because the diagonals of a rhombus cross at right angles.

Here, the differences between diagonally opposite coordinates are ...

AC = (12, 18) . . . . slope = 18/12 = 3/2

BD = (-7, 5) . . . . slope = 5/-7 = -5/7

If the diagonals are perpendicular, their slopes have a product of -1. Here, the product is ...

(3/2)(-5/7) = (-15/14) ≠ -1

The given figure is not a rhombus.

If we assume the diagonals are perpendicular, then the area would be ...

A = 1/2√(12²+18²)√((-5)²+7²) = 1/2√34632 ≈ 93.048

Rounded to the nearest tenth, this area would be 93.0 square units.

The diagonals actually cross at an angle of about 88.152°, so the area is actually ...

93.048·sin(88.152°) = 93 square units (exactly)

(Development of this formula is beyond the scope of this answer.)

User Rob Anderson
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