Question

Alexa is designing a paper airplane whose final shape, when viewed from the top or bottom, is a trapezoid. A sketch of her plane, viewed from the top, is shown on the left. A trapezoid has a base of 6 centimeters, a height of 3 centimeters, and a top side length of 2 centimeters. What are the dimensions of one of the identical triangular pieces of the plane?

A) 2 cm base, 3 cm height
B) 3 cm base, 3 cm height
C) 3 cm base, 4 cm height
D) 3 cm base, 6 cm height

Answer 1

The dimensions of one of the identical triangular pieces of the paper airplane are a base of 4 centimeters and a height of 1.5 centimeters.

Step-by-step explanation:

The dimensions of one of the identical triangular pieces of the paper airplane can be found by finding the dimensions of the trapezoid and using the formula for the area of a trapezoid.

The trapezoid has a base of 6 centimeters, a height of 3 centimeters, and a top side length of 2 centimeters.

To find the dimensions of the triangular piece, subtract the length of the top side from the length of the base to get the length of the two identical sides.

Then, divide the height by 2 to get the height of the triangle. So, the dimensions of one of the identical triangular pieces of the paper airplane are a base of 4 centimeters and a height of 1.5 centimeters.