Question

Find the area of this triangle..

Answer 1

`\boxed{25.72 \: units^2}`

Explanation:

Split the triangle into two triangles.

The base of one triangle is 3.6 and hypotenuse (longest side) is 8.

Use Pythagorean theorem to find length of one leg.

a² + b² = c²

3.6² + b² = 8²

b = 7.144228

The area of a triangle is
`(1)/(2) bh`

The base and height both are given now.

`(1)/(2) (7.144228)(3.6)`

`12.85961`

Multiply by 2 because there are two triangles.

`12.85961 * 2`

`25.719221`

Answer 2

Answer: 25.71

Explanation:

The area of a triangle is b*h/2. First, focus on finding the missing height. To find the height, use the pythagorean theorem. The pythagorean theorem only works on rights triangles. If you divide the triangle in half (vertically), you end up with two right triangles. From there, use the pythagorean theorem. The equation for the theorem is a²+b²=c². a and b are the sides and c is the hypotenuse(longest side).

1. For this triangle, you have the base and hypotenuse. Because there are technecally two right triangles, divide the base into two. 7.2/2 is 3.6.

2. Going back to what I said about a²+b²=c² , fill in the variables. The pythagorean theorem is used to find a missing side in a right triangle, so in this case, you would use it to find the height. 3.6²+X²=8². X represents the height which is 7.14

3. Finally, 7.14*7.2= 51.43.

4. Divide 51.43 by 2. 51.43/2 is 25.72.

I hope this wasn't too difficult to understand bc it's harded to explain without visuals. Hope this helped!