Question

The area of a trapezoid is 60 square inches. One of the bases is 8 inches long. The height is 6 inches long. What is the length of the second base?

Answer 1

12 in

Explanation:

The area (A) of a trapezoid is calculated as

A =
`(1)/(2)` h(b₁ + b₂ )

where h is the height and b₁, b₂ the parallel bases

Given h = 6, b₁ = 8 and A = 60 , then

`(1)/(2)` × 6 × (8 + b₂ ) = 60 , that is

3(8 + b₂ ) = 60 ( divide both sides by 3 )

8 + b₂ = 20 ( subtract 8 from both sides )

b₂ = 12

The length of the second base is 12 inches