193k views
4 votes
Work out the area of this trapezium
6cm
10cm
8cm
17cm

User Swv
by
4.7k points

1 Answer

6 votes

Answer:

(81√15)/4 ≈ 78.43 cm²

Explanation:

It can help to draw a diagram.

The base angle at the side of length 6 can be found using the Law of Cosines. Its opposite side is of length 8, and the two adjacent sides are of length 6 and 7. So, we have ...

8² = 6² +7² -2·6·7·cos(α)

cos(α) = (36+49-64)/(84) = 1/4

α = arccos(1/4) ≈ 75.522°

Then the height of the trapezium is ...

6·sin(75.522°) ≈ 5.80948 . . . . cm

__

The area of the trapezium is given by the formula ...

A = 1/2(b1 +b2)h

A = (1/2)(17 +10)(5.80948) . . . . cm²

A ≈ 78.43 cm²

__

Of course, sin(arccos(1/4)) = (√15)/4, so the exact formulation of the area is ...

A = (81√15)/4 cm²

Work out the area of this trapezium 6cm 10cm 8cm 17cm-example-1
User DaveP
by
5.0k points
Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.