Question

The trapezoid in the figure has equal nonparaellel sides. The upper base is 6 the lower base is 16 and the diagonal is 12. What is the altitude of the trapezoid

Answer 1

4.8

Step-by-step explanation:

We have assume a right triangle to be formed from the given description so for the altitude we can use the Pythagoras theorem.

a²+b²=c² (where a and b are the side lengths and c is the hypotenuse)

Putting the values that we have.

11²+b²=12²

simplify this,

121+b²=144

subtract 121 from both sides

b²=23

To solve for the missing side/altitude we just need to find the square root of 23

b=√23

It is approximately 4.8