Answer:
Explanation:
You want the lengths of sides marked 'a' and 'b' in the given right triangle figure.
Similar triangles
All of the triangles in the figure are similar to each other. This gives rise to some proportional relations that are useful for solving this problem.
short side/long side = 6/8 = a/6
8a = 36 . . . . . . cross multiply
a = 36/8 = 4.5
long side/hypotenuse = 8/10 = 6/b
8b = 60 . . . . . . . cross multiply
b = 60/8 = 7.5
The lengths 'a' and 'b' are 4.5 and 7.5, respectively.
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Additional comment
These are sometimes given as "geometric mean" relationships:
6 = √(8·a)
b = √(a·(a+8))
10 = √(8·(8+a))
where √(pq) is the geometric mean of p and q.
Another way to solve this is to recognize the given triangle is a 3-4-5 right triangle. The other similar triangles will have these same ratios:
3 : 4 : 5 = a : 6 : b ⇒ a = 3(6/4) = 4.5, b = 5(6/4) = 7.5
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