Question

Segment EF is the midsegment of trapezoid ABCD. Find the length of segment EF if segment AB is 20 and segment CD is 12.

Answer 1

Midsegment = 1/2(base1 + base2)

EF = 1/2(AB + CD)

EF = 1/2(20 + 12)

EF = 1/2(32)

EF = 16

Answer

EF = 16

Answer 2

The length of the mid-segment EF is 16.

Explanation:

In this exercise the main idea is to know the formula for the mid-segment of a trapezoid. This formula should be well known because it is used to find the area of a trapezoid.

If we denote the mid-segment of a trapezoid as
`m`, the larger basis as
`B` and the smaller basis as
`b`, the formula states:

`m = (B+b)/(2).`

In this particular exercise
`m=EF`,
`B=AB` and
`b=DC`.

Thus,

`EF = (DC + AB)/(2) = (20+12)/(2) = (32)/(2) = 16.`