Question

If x = 5 units, y = 7 units, and h = 7 units, find the area of the trapezoid shown above using decomposition.

Answer 1

To find the area of the trapezoid using decomposition, you can divide the trapezoid into a rectangle and two triangles. The area of the rectangle is x * h = 5 * 7 = 35 square units. The area of each triangle is (y - x) / 2 * h = (7 - 5) / 2 * 7 = 7 square units. So the total area of the trapezoid is 35 + 7 + 7 = 49 square units.

Explanation: