Question

The cross section of a water bin is shaped like a trapezoid. The bases of the trapezoid are 28 feet and 6 feet long. It has an area of 34 square feet. What is the height of the cross section?

Answer 1

The height of the cross section if 2 feet

Explanation:

To solve this problem recall the formula for the area of a trapezoid of bases B (larger base) and b (smaller base) and height H:

`Area = ((B+b)\,H)/(2)`

Therefore, for our case we have:

`Area = ((B+b)\,H)/(2)\\34 \,ft^2 = ((28\,ft+6\,ft)\,H)/(2)\\34 \,ft^2 = ((34 \,ft)\,H)/(2)`

So, now we can solve for the height H:

`34 \,ft^2 = ((34 \,ft)\,H)/(2)\\2\,*\,34 \,ft^2 =34\,ft\,* H\\H=(2\,*\,34 \,ft^2)/(34\,ft)\\ H=2\,ft`