Question

A sail is in the form of a right triangle that is three times as high as it is wide. The sail is made from 6 square meters of material

Answer 1

The width is 2 meters, and the height is 6 meters.

Explanation:

In a right triangle, the two sides that form the right angle can be the base and the height.

area = 1/2 * base * height

Let the width be the base and be b.

The height is the altitude and is 3b.

area = 1/2 * b * 3b

area = 1.5b^2

The area is 6 square meters

1.5b^2 = 6

Divide both sides by 1.5

b^2 = 4

Take the square root of both sides.

b = 2

width = b = 2 meters

height = 3b = 3(2 meters) = 6 meters