If BC -16 and BD-9 then find the length of BA. Show the work you use to find your answer. Draw the two similar triangles separately to help set up the proportion.

Question

asked Jan 18, 2019 69.8k views

1 Answer

Lemonhead · Answer 1 · 2019-01-22T14:10:25+0000

In right triangle the leg is geometrical mean of its projection on the hypotenuse and the hypotenuse. Thus,

$AB^2=BD\cdot BC$ .

Substitude BC=16, BD=9, then

$AB^2=9\cdot 16,\\ AB^2=144,\\ AB=12$ .

Answer: AB=12