Question

Find the perimeter of the trapezoid shown below.

25 units
36 units
40 units

Answer 1

Answer: 140 units

Explanation:

To find the perimeter, we will add all four side lengths together. However, you likely notice we are missing one. We will use the Pythagorean theorem to solve for this missing side length. I have attached a picture of where we got this right triangle from. We find this side length is 39 units.

a² + b² = c²

36² + (40 - 25)² = c²

36² + 15² = c²

1,296 + 225 = c²

1,521 = c²

c =
`√(1,521)` = 39

Lastly, we can add all of the side lengths together.

36 units + 25 units + 40 units + 39 units = 140 units