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4 votes
The triangle shown below has an area of 20 units.

Find the missing side.
8.
2
2
units

The triangle shown below has an area of 20 units. Find the missing side. 8. 2 2 units-example-1
User Turning
by
3.8k points

2 Answers

10 votes

Final answer:

It is not possible to calculate the missing side of the triangle with the existing information. If it were a right-angled triangle and two sides were known, the Pythagorean theorem could be used. Scale factors and ratios are important in problems involving scale drawings but not applicable with the current details.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question entails determining the length of a missing side of a triangle given the area. The details provided do not seem to be sufficient to directly calculate the missing side as there's missing information regarding the specific dimensions of the triangle or the type of triangle it is; however, there's mention of different scenarios where scale drawings and scaling factors are used to find dimensions of a triangle in a different context. If this were a right-angled triangle or if additional information about angles or sides were provided, one could apply the Pythagorean theorem or trigonometry to find the missing side.

For example, if we are given the lengths of two sides of a right triangle and need to find the hypotenuse, we would use the formula √(leg1)² + (leg2)² to find the missing hypotenuse. Also, if a scale factor is involved in the problem, we would use ratios to determine the actual lengths if a drawing or model's dimensions are known. However, without additional information, no specific numeric answer can be calculated for the missing side.

User Emil Condrea
by
4.5k points
7 votes
X=5
I did the formula 1/2*b*h=area
B=base
H=height
I plugged in 8 for the base 20 for the area and proceeded to solve the equation 1/2*8*h=20 (I then did 1/2*8 and got 4)
4*h=20 (I then divided both sides by 4 and got the answer below this)
h=5
Hope this helps!!

User Caitlan
by
4.2k points