Question

Natalie wants to measure the width of a river. She marks off two right angles, as shown in the figure. The base of the larger triangle has a length of 58m, and the base of the smaller triangle has a length of 26m. The height of the smaller triangle is 21.3m. How wide is the river? Round your answer to the nearest meter.

Answer 1

Given:
Larger Triangle : base = 58 m ; height = x
Smaller Triangle: base = 26 m; height = 21.3 m

x:58 = 21.3:26
26x = 58*21.3
26x = 1,235.4
x = 1,235.4 / 26
x = 47.515

The river is 48 meters wide.