Question

The height of a triangle is 5m less than its base. the area of the triangle is 42m^2

what is the length of the base
enter your answer in the box

__ m

Answer 1

A = (1/2)bh
A = (1/2)b(b -5)
2A = b(b -5)
b^2 -5b -2A = 0

Substituting given values, we have
b^2 -5b -2*42 = 0
(b -12)(b +7) = 0

b = 12

The length of the base is 12 m.