Question

Reece made the two butterflies below

using paper. They are mathematically
similar.
Work out the width, w, of the larger
butterfly.
If your answer is a decimal, give it to
1 d.p.
surface area = 47 cm²
3 cm
surface area = 1175 cm²
W
Not drawn accurately

Answer 1

The calculated width w of the larger butterfly is 15 cm

How to determine the width w of the larger butterfly

From the question, we have the following parameters that can be used in our computation:

The image of the butterflies

Where, we have

Big area = 1175 cm²

Small area = 47 cm²

Also, we have

Small width = 3 cm

Wsing the above as a guide, we have the following:

(Small width/w)² = Small area/Big area

Substitute the known values into the equation

(3/w)² = 47/1175

This gives

w/3 = √1175/47

w/3 = √25

w/3 = 5

So, we have

w = 15

Hence, the width w of the larger butterfly is 15 cm