Question

- Lawrence bends a wire of length 18 cm

into an equilateral triangle. He then
measures the sides of the triangle and
finds them to be 5.8 cm each.He uses
this measurement to calculate his
absolute error in the area obtained. What
is his answer?

Answer 1

1.02 cm²

Explanation:

An equilateral triangle is a triangle with all three sides of equal length.

The perimeter of the triangle made by Lawrence is 18 cm. Which is calculated as follows:

perimeter of equilateral triangle = 3*side

Therefore, each side is 18/3 = 6 cm long

Area of equilateral triangle = √3/4*side²

Area obtained by Lawrence = √3/4*5.8² = 14.57 cm²

Actual area of the triangle = √3/4*6² = 15.59 cm²

Absolute Error = | Measured Value - Actual Value |

Absolute Error = |14.57 - 15.59| = 1.02 cm²