Question

Explain weather or not the two triangles below could lie on the same line. Be sure to use the slope of each triangle in your justification.

Answer 1

No, these triangles cannot lie on the same line.

Explanation:

For two triangles to lie on the same line they must have the same slope.

The slope of the bigger triangle is

`m=(rise)/(run) =-(18)/(10) =-1.8`

and the slope of the smaller triangle is

`m=(rise)/(run) =-(2)/(3) =-0.67`

slopes are negative because the triangles are leaning to the left.

We see that the slopes of the two triangles are not the same; therefore, they cannot lie on the same line.